Destruction
by Kyree Winx
Summary: Bloom just couldn't do it. She couldn't take a life...even if it meant preventing evil from taking over the Magical Universe. Now, because of this shortcoming, she may face a terrible fate. Diaspro thinks she wants revenge, but in all reality she only wants to belong somewhere. Her thirst for vengeance on Bloom may just teach her what's really worth fighting for in life.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1- Incapable**

_Bloom's eyes narrowed as she focused all her will on defeating Baltor. "Power of the flame, leave me. Go and find Baltor's fire." As she spoke the words, Bloom closed her eyes and tilted her head toward the sky. She felt her power and soul being torn from her body. Then she was outside herself. She watched her body collapse and fall to the ground. She saw Stella race over to her now limp body, calling her name. Bloom ignored this and continued to follow a tugging feeling that led her to the beastly Baltor. She entered him, getting closer and closer to his Dragon's flame. Then she was there._

_As she entered the inner sanctum, the brand of the Ancestral witches burst into flame. She heard Baltor roar in pain. "I did it Baltor. I traveled to the inner sanctum of your Dragon Fire. And now that I'm here, I'm gonna put out your Dragon Fire flame, once and for all." Bloom held out her hands before her and the flames that engulfed the brand grew larger. She heard Baltor roar again in pain, then he stopped._

_Baltor stood before her now, no longer a winged beast, but a man. He'd returned to his wizard form. "Your fairy dust erased the dark magic of the Ancestresses._

"_But that's im-" Bloom started only to be interrupted by Baltor._

"_And now I am myself again. A wizard created from a dark ember of the Great Dragon's fire." Baltor had a cocky grin on his face._

"_I'm still going to finish you off!" Bloom said, holding her arms out. A flame appeared between her hands. She was about to throw it at him when he spoke again._

"_I have a better idea Bloom. Something that will help me achieve my destiny and you finally locate your birth parents." Baltor suggested, crossing his arms._

"_I don't believe you know anything about my birth parents!" Bloom shouted. She raised the flame high above her head to throw the flame at Baltor, but uncertainty made her pause_

"_But the Ancient Witches do. In fact, they hold the key to both our destinies. For you finding Oritel and Miriam, and for me achieving the greatness that I deserve. So this is what I propose to you Bloom: turn your rage on the Ancestresses and join me. Together we will be strong enough to defeat them and make them give us what we want. You and I are the same Bloom. We are bookends, matching pieces of the greatest ancient magic ever to exist."_

_Hearing his words, Bloom became angrier. She was nothing like Baltor. "The only thing we have in common is our Dragon Fire. And right now mine is going to fight yours until one of them is out."_

"_So be it. I gave you one last chance Bloom, and now I'm going to destroy you." Baltor's eyes became red as his powers came to life._

"_Not if I destroy you first. Dragon Fire Fury!" The brand flared to life once more and cries filled the sanctum. Bloom listened to Baltor's cries of pain. Something tore at her heart and mind. Immediately she withdrew the intensity of her attack. She couldn't it. She couldn't destroy him. It was too much for her. But she couldn't let him go free, free to cause destruction and chaos. And the Specialists and the Winx were counting on her. She had to destroy Baltor._

_But not today. Not now. She will have to destroy him later, when she had the will to do it. "Not today, Baltor. I can't destroy you today. But mark my words, I will destroy you." Bloom closed her eyes and muttered a spell. Baltor stared at her in confusion and fear as the spell took effect. Then he was gone and Bloom was a free floating essence once more._

* * *

><p>Bloom woke up gasping in horror and in fervor. She clutched at the satin bedspread that she was tangled in, as though it were her only lifeline to reality. Her body was hot and sticky, her soft nightgown clung to her body, soaked with sweat. From across the room, Kiko looked at her curiously.<p>

Slowly, Bloom detangled herself from her covers. She glanced at the clock, then groaned when she saw the time. "Great. 3 a.m. is a great time to get up." Kiko made a small noise of distress and Bloom smiled at her bunny reassuringly. "I'm alright. Just…just a … nightmare." Her voice trembled as she said nightmare. She was lying. It hadn't been a nightmare. It was a dream. Well it was not much of a dream either: rather it was a memory.

Bloom swung her feet from her bed to the floor . Carefully stepping on the cool marble floor, Bloom made her way over to the balcony. She threw open the doors and walked out into the temperate night air, the breeze cooling her heated skin. Stars still glittered in the sky like shattered pieces of a prism. The moons all glowed in odd, but beautiful colors. A calmness came over Bloom as she took a shaky breath.

"I need to try again." Bloom muttered softly. "It will only be a matter of time before Baltor escapes from the temporary prison I've trapped him in. I vowed to finish it. I will finish it." A warm furry body rubbed against her ankle. Bloom looked down and saw Kiko still looking at her with worry in his expression. "Don't worry Kiko. I shouldn't be gone long." Bloom closed her eyes and focused her fairy magic. "Winx Zoomix."

* * *

><p>Diaspro stood silently in the shadows of the balcony, regarding the shaken princess before her. She was trailing Bloom in hopes that Bloom would lead her to the one person she needed to help her get revenge. And if what Bloom was rambling about was what Diaspro thought it was, that night may be the night Diaspro got what she wanted.<p>

Diaspro watched as Bloom disappeared in a flash of light. She carefully whispered a spell of trace and focused her own magic on portalling. Immediately she was whisked away from the shadows, her darker magic in hot pursuit of Bloom's light magic. She opened her eyes and found herself standing in a deep dark chasm. Black rock walls rose up on either side of her, threatening and in auspicious. Diaspro fought a feeling of trepidation and stealthily followed the bright red beacon before her.

They walked for what felt like eternity until Bloom's steps slowed. Diaspro slackened her own pace and hid in the shadows. But Bloom didn't turn around. Instead, she took small, cautious steps ahead into and impossibly even darker part of the chasm. Diaspro's eyes adjusted to darkness and she saw what it was Bloom was approaching, or rather who Bloom was approaching. Diaspro felt a smile play on her lips.

"Baltor." Bloom's voice was tinny as she spoke, as though the darkness seemed to swallow the sound.

Chains rattled and Diaspro watched as Baltor turned to look at Bloom. His cold calculating eyes narrowed and he put on a mocking smile. "Ah. Bloom. Or should I say Princess Bloom of Sparks? The magical ether has told me your parents were freed from Obsidian." His chuckle, unlike Bloom's sound, echoed in the lightless chasm. Diaspro fought the shivers that wanted to run down her spine.

Bloom said nothing. Her wide blue eyes just stared at Baltor, a blank look reflected in them. Diaspro could tell Bloom was fighting her feelings. The girl's hands were clenched in fists and every part of her was tense.

"So you haven't come to chat. I'll bet you want to try destroy me yet again." Baltor laughed this time, the sound ricocheting off the jet walls. "You won't do it child. It's guaranteed. You're a being of goodness: your pure heart won't allow you to perform a vile act." His cruel grin didn't quiver once as he taunted her.

He is confident, Diaspro noted to herself. He was certain Bloom wouldn't do it. But Diaspro knew Bloom to be unpredictable in hostile situations. She prepared herself to protect Baltor, just in case Bloom somehow stirred up enough gall to go through with her mission.

"I have to." Bloom's voice trembled as she spoke. "So I will destroy you."

"Deciding one's fate and taking life. I thought those were the duties of gods Bloom?" Baltor sneered. "So you've deemed you're a goddess now that you've got the magical universe wrapped around your little finger?"

Bloom's disheveled night gown shimmered and was replaced with a lovely short dress of blue ruffles. Wings fluttered on her back. "Dragon Fire Fury!" Bloom's cry started out strong, but faltered with the last word. Mild flames licked at the ground around her and Baltor. Bloom's eyes closed tightly.

"Ah. Like I said, your heart is not into it." Baltor shook his head. "Just think if you had taken my deal? What a mess that would've been for me. You wouldn't have been able to hold up your part of the deal."

Diaspro watched a single tear roll down Bloom's cheek. Bloom didn't bother wiping it away. Instead she muttered something angrily and the chains that bound Baltor to the cavern wall tightened, making Baltor groan in discomfort. Bloom said nothing and walked away from Baltor, not even bothering to look back at her prisoner. Diaspro watched as Bloom disappeared into the inky blackness.

After several minutes Diaspro turned her attention back on Baltor. He sat quietly, in deep contemplation. She nearly jumped when he spoke.

"Hiding in the shadows doesn't conceal you as well as you'd like to think." Baltor gazed directly at Diaspro. "Why have you come, Diaspro?"

Diaspro gingerly stepped out from her shadowy cover. She approached Baltor, her steps light and brisk. "I've come to release you Baltor. But for a small price."

Baltor's eyes narrowed as he looked up at Diaspro. "And what small price may that be?"

"I want your help in destroying Bloom." Diaspro spoke Bloom's name with spite. "I have a plan, but I don't have the power needed to get what I need."

Baltor gazed at her. "I sense a darker magic running through your veins. You've grown stronger. Why would you need me?"

"I now have the power of Hecate flowing through my veins. I've taken the oaths and have become a breed of fairy known as a Wicca fairy. I am stronger, but the opponents I'll have to face to carry out my plan are many times stronger than me." Diaspro sighed. "That's why I've come looking for you. I knew Bloom wasn't capable of destroying someone. So I followed her around and discovered my hunch was right. She merely trapped you." Diaspro watched Baltor's reaction. He wasn't impressed.

"I've had business dealings with you before and I've heard of your earlier encounters with Bloom. Each time you were outwitted and effortlessly defeated each time. I don't think you'll have what it takes to destroy Bloom." Baltor said flatly.

Diaspro clenched her fists furiously. " I seem to recall that you suffer the same shortcoming when you've encountered Bloom Baltor!" she snapped.

Baltor sniffed. "Touché."

Taking a calming breath, Diaspro continued, "Besides, my plan has nothing to do with encountering Bloom. We'll destroy her without even having to face her once."

A look of intrigue flashed in Baltor's eyes. "Really? And how impossible is this trivial plan of yours?"

"Oh, it's possible. But only with your help. And I refuse to reveal my plan until you take an oath you'll help me carry it out." Diaspro felt glee watching Baltor's look of dismay. "What will it be, Baltor?" Diaspro asked smoothly.

Baltor was quiet for a time. Then he spoke. "Well, you are rather clever for being so young and lacking experience. And you didn't have me there when you lost your little boy to Bloom." Baltor eyed her. "You don't seem to be so smitten with him anymore either."

"Oh I'll get him. There's just a single wall I have to tear down first." Diaspro smiled viciously.

Baltor nodded. "All right. I'll help you with your little plot."

Diaspro's smile deepened. "I knew you'd see things my way."

* * *

><p><strong>-Author's Note- <strong>And that's the beginning of my newest fiction. I'm excited about this one because I plan to take my time as I work on this story. I'm hoping it will be as well done as my other story, "How Their Love Began." I took the beginning of this story directly from the 4kids version of the episode "Fire and Flame", the last episode of the third season. I made just a minor edit, making Bloom teleport Baltor to some kind of prison instead of totally destroying him (as I've come to believe she had done, for we never see him nor hear of him again after that). I hope you all will enjoy this story as it progresses and I'd love for you to review the chapters for me. Thank-you! ~Kyree Winx~


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- Shadow**

Miriam sat quietly at the tea table and observed her daughter slowly stir her tea. Bloom seemed to be distracted by something, her blue eyes weren't focused on anything at the table or in the room for that matter. Miriam wanted to say something to encourage her daughter to speak her mind, but she didn't want to come off as a nosy mother. So she sat drinking her tea with well-trained composure. She could wait for Bloom to confide in her. And she believed Bloom would in time.

As for Oritel, he couldn't just let that time come naturally with ease. Rather, he broke the tranquil silence with the question both he and Miriam had been thinking of. "Is something wrong Bloom?"

Bloom snapped out of her daze and looked in surprise at her father. "What?" Her blue eyes wouldn't meet either of their gazes.

"I asked if something was wrong?" Oritel's eyes narrowed and his voice became low and dangerous. "Has Sky said or done something to upset you again?" he asked brusquely. Startled by this comment, Miriam nearly dropped her teacup.

"What no!" Bloom shook her head frantically. "I'm fine Daddy! Really I'm okay…just a tad tired is all." She cleared her throat and focused hard on stirring her tea.

Oritel looked at Miriam, searching for the answer to Bloom's odd behavior. Miriam rolled her eyes and decided she'd have to find the truth herself. "Sweetie. You seem a bit distracted today. Your father is just worried that you're not feeling well." She watched as her daughter stopped needlessly stirring her tea and set the teaspoon down. They sat in silence, Miriam and Oritel both looking at their daughter, Bloom staring down at the beautifully embroidered table cloth. Finally Bloom spoke.

"I was just thinking about the wedding dress I should wear…" Bloom's voice trailed off. Miriam could tell she was lying. Bloom's lovely features became tense and her eyes unfocused whenever she lied to people. As they were doing now.

"That's wonderful!" Oritel gave a broad smile. Miriam placed a hand on her forehead in exasperation. Oritel was dense when it came to what was on women's minds and what they're feeling. He obviously had fallen for the lie, with the idea that everything was just well in Bloom's life stuck in his head. "You and your mother should definitely have a discussion about that! Perhaps this afternoon?" He was oblivious.

"How about we have a discussion about that right now?" Miriam threw a look at Oritel, who was biting down into a raspberry tart. He looked at her oddly, still holding the tart up to his mouth, and she gave him the same look again. "Alone. Together. Bloom and I…Oritel don't you have some matters to attend to?"

Oritel looked at the tart in his hand, thought about Miriam's question, swallowed, then looked at Miriam with a shrug. "No." Miriam kicked him beneath the table. "Ow! What?" Oritel looked at Miriam in puzzlement. He still wasn't getting Miriam's idea.

Miriam sighed, annoyed that Oritel could be so ignorant sometimes. "Go away Oritel." She watched as the signs and signals slowly began to tip him off.

He gave a slow nod of understanding. "I've got a royal meeting…with…someone." Oritel got up quickly and left the room. Miriam hoped he understood that Bloom really needed her mother right then.

Miriam and Bloom gazed at one another across the table. A tense silence filled the room after Oritel left. The tension mostly came from Bloom as she fidgeted nervously under Miriam's gaze. "Bloom, what is the matter?" Miriam asked gently. She hoped she wasn't coming off as a prying mother.

Bloom looked at Miriam. She still refused to meet Miriam's eyes and she blinked as she spoke. "There is nothing wrong. Nothing." Bloom sounded as though she was trying to convince herself as well as Miriam.

Miriam stood up and walked over to her daughter. She carefully pushed a strand of fiery red hair out of her daughter's face. "You lie." The next thing Miriam knew Bloom was hugging her fiercely and crying. "Shhh. It's alright." Miriam soothed. She waited as Bloom composed herself enough to speak.

"Have you…have you ever been incapable of doing something?" Bloom hiccupped. "Something that everyone expected of you, that everybody still expects you did?" Bloom pulled away and looked at Miriam, her blue eyes tinged with red.

"Of course…" Miriam took Bloom's hands into hers. "But what have you not done? Bloom, you've done much. But, I don't think you've done anything wrong."

Bloom just looked down at the floor. Miriam watched her, certain that Bloom would tell her what was wrong. But then Bloom pulled her hands away and headed for the door. "You're right. I haven't done anything wrong. How silly of me to worry for nothing." Bloom's voice didn't sound reassuring. Miriam's worry didn't abate as she watched Bloom leave the room.

* * *

><p>Baltor stared incredulously at Diaspro. They were currently wandering through the shadow realm, a dark, god-forsaken realm that interconnected with all the realms of the universe. Shadow beings and dark magicians often traveled the shadow realms to quickly get from place to place. It surprised him that Diaspro was capable of opening the shadows. He had to admit he was impressed with the young girl, for it took years to master the shadow travel art. One could easily get lost in the shadows, but she seemed quite sure about where she was going.<p>

"So this dastardly plan you have…what is it?" Baltor asked finally. He'd become annoyed with her insistence on being mum about the plan.

Diaspro stopped and turned to gaze at him, her amber eyes glowing despite the lack of light. "I suppose I can tell you now that you've vowed to assist me. As soon as Sky had me banned from Eraklyon, I went back to my home realm of Isis. I'd become a disgrace to my kingdom because of my actions and my involvement with you. I'll admit, those were my mistakes, but I didn't ruin my life. Bloom did. She took everything away from me!" Diaspro's fists clenched and her voice became vicious.

Baltor rolled his eyes. "Can we skip ahead to the plan?"

She threw him a glare. "I vowed then and there that I'd get my revenge on Bloom. But I kept hearing about how she'd become stronger and stronger. I couldn't take care of her at the power level I was at. So sought out power for myself."

"You took the oaths to become a fairy of Hecate." Baltor stated.

Diaspro nodded eagerly. "Yes. My magic became stronger and darker. Just the magic I needed to take Bloom on, which was my original plan for revenge. But then I came across some interesting scrolls while I was training to become a Wicca fairy. Trainees of Hecate are given access to some of the most powerful scrolls of dark magic and history in the universe. In them I read about two fairy entities."

Baltor looked at her in surprise. "How? All scrolls and documentation about the fairy entities were supposed to have been destroyed centuries ago to prevent people from tampering with the forces of nature and laws of physics."

Diaspro laughed. "Please. When people say they're going to destroy something, someone somewhere works to preserve what they're going to destroy. Copies of those original scrolls and documents still exist. Some they never even destroyed."

Baltor nodded slowly, doubts still working in his mind. "Continue."

"In the scrolls I found I read about the fairy entities of time and space. Eilian and Aetheria. Legend has it they protect the aspects of time and space that make up each person's identity." Diaspro smiled, baring her white teeth.

"What does this have to do with your plan on destroying Bloom?" Baltor asked. He was growing more weary of Diaspro's dabbling by the minute .

"The entities aren't the key. The aspects are. My plan is to go to the very realms of Eilian and Aetheria and take the aspects that make up Bloom's identity." Diaspro's eyes flashed and excitement filled her tone.

"Then what?" Baltor asked.

"Then, we destroy them, thus destroying Bloom." Diaspro finished.

Baltor sighed. The plan was original, he had to give her that. But the plan was on the brink of, if not actually, impossible. "It's dastardly, but insane. Nobody knows where those entities' realms reside. We'd never be able to find them."

"I've determined that the two realms must lie outside of the magical universe. They must act something like the Golden Kingdom. Realms outside the universe need something to anchor them to the universe in order for them to exist. The trick is getting there. That's why I've taken us to the shadow realms. There has to be some sort of entrance here, considering the shadow realms interconnect with all the realms." Diaspro started walking again. "So we're heading to the ancient sections of this realm."

"How would you destroy the two aspects of Bloom?" Baltor asked, following the annoyingly, refined, blonde Wicca Fairy.

"We bring the two aspects to the Dais of Chaos, the very place, comparatively, where the heavens and the earth were born. Theoretically, it's also the birthplace of the Dragon Fire and the Water Stars. There we combine them and then there will be no more Bloom. Ironically, I've located this place to be close to Sparks." Diaspro looked at Baltor. "Well?"

Baltor fell to deep thought. Diaspro had thought of everything, proving just how devious she really could be. Nobody would expect Bloom's destruction would be caused by her very own identity. The whole plan was capable of being done. Without Bloom in his way, Baltor could have the magical universe as his own. Miriam and Oritel were weak and pathetic compared to their child. He'd have no trouble with them. "It's all well thought out. Very good." Baltor commented.

Diaspro smiled haughtily. " During all of that lovely chat, we've arrived at the primordial section of the shadow realm."

Baltor glanced around and sure enough he could tell the place was ancient. Even more ancient than the Ancestrals themselves. Dilapidated Grecian styled columns rose up everywhere. Rubble and the remains of architecture lay scattered over the ground everywhere. Here and there stood antediluvian doorways and archways; some were falling apart, but many still stood ominously, entrances to the unknown. "That we have." he muttered in awe.

Diaspro shivered and laughed in delight. "I can feel ancient powers still pervade the air here. It's rich and dark. Like chocolate!"

Baltor looked at her oddly and shook his head. "Which door will take us to the realm Eilian resides in?"

Diaspro looked around. "Well, the realm is called Eilian's Keep. Look at the standing archways and doorways. One of them must have a sign of some sort." Diaspro stalked away, intent on finding the door.

"A sign. Right." Baltor muttered. "I guess Diaspro's plan was bound to have holes in it. That must be why I'm here. To fill those holes." He carefully walked around the rubble, examining each and every doorway and archway he came across. Some were plain, while others were lavishly decorated with symbols and carvings. He doggedly continued his search until he became frustrated. Diaspro walked up, frowning at the rubble around her.

"There has to be some entrance." Diaspro cursed angrily. "I worked too hard on that damn plan to have my efforts be fruitless!"

Baltor said nothing. Rather he walked up to an archway he'd checked earlier. He'd gotten some kind of a feeling from it. He carefully walked around it, meticulously examining the carvings on the stone. At the top of the arch, a single symbol was carved into the stone, a scythe. Beneath this was a word written in some language_. "Χρόνος."_ Baltor read.

"Excuse you?" Diaspro stared at him.

"It's Greek." Baltor explained. "Chronos."

Diaspro was quiet for a moment, then something dawned on her. "Chronos you say? Eilian was said to have been blessed by the titan Chronos. Chronos in Greek mythology was the Titan of Time." She gazed up at the top of the structure. "And the scythe was his symbol! This must be it. This must be the door to Eilian's Keep!"

Baltor nodded. Diaspro's plan was falling into place. Soon, Bloom would face the destruction she should've faced a long time ago.

* * *

><p><strong>-<strong>**Author's Note- **I apologize to one of my anonymous readers. I'm following the 4kids version of Winx Club, So I tend to call Valtor "Baltor". I've brought in some Greek mythology, mostly because much of Winx Club has been inspired by it. For example, there was the Minotaur they faced in Season 1, the name of the realm Narcissia is derived from the myth of Narcissus, even the name of Alfea refers to the first letter of the Greek alphabet _alpha._ There was even some Egyptian mythology mixed in. Diaspro's home realm is called Isis, after the Egyptian goddess. This bit of information is also from the 4kids dub of Winx Club. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'd be grateful to hear your comments. ~Kyree Winx~


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- Eilian's Keep**

"Well, go on ahead." Baltor nodded at the doorway. "Ladies first."

Diaspro rolled her eyes and then gingerly stepped through the doorway. Suddenly, everything was cast in a dull light. The air became thick and her movement slowed. She felt as though she were being dragged through a gel. Diaspro struggled to breathe and move. The moment seemed to stop there and then. Then everything snapped back into time frame as Diaspro stumbled her way out of the doorway into Eilian's Keep.

The amaranthine realm was lit by a dim twilight. The landscape was painted with dismal shades of gray and black. Everything was at a standstill; there was no wind, the clouds in the sky were motionless, the water didn't run, the flora didn't bend or sway. What struck as odd to Diaspro was the fact she didn't spot a living animal or insect anywhere. "This place is…" Diaspro knelt to the ground and observed a falling droplet of dew frozen in midair, "dead."

Baltor shook his head. "No, not dead. Merely trapped in time. Frozen at the moment it was claimed by Eilian in the name of Chronos."

Diaspro looked up at Baltor. "You're saying this place was once a part of time?"

"Yes." Baltor said. He strode forward, his boots digging into the ground. Diaspro watched in fascination as the soil he kicked up froze in midair, just like the dew drop. "We don't have much time. Only a few beings can remain outside the universe and not become detached. And be careful not to stir up too much. That can cause everything to snap back into time quickly and the natural rhythm of life will over compensate, causing the whole realm to self-destruct."

"How do you know?" Diaspro asked.

Baltor gave her an evil grin. "Oh I've done much, child."

Diaspro shivered and stood up. The thought of what Baltor could do scared her, so she didn't dig into the subject any deeper. The two of them carefully picked their way through the realm, searching for Eilian's hiding place. It was quiet except for the sound of their footsteps. Diaspro was grateful for some sound; the silence was deafening to her, driving her mad. But Baltor seemed unaffected by the unnerving silence.

"Do you think we're close yet?" Diaspro finally said. She was surprised to hear her voice cut through the silence so easily; the silence had become heavier.

He glanced at her. "Yes. Don't you feel the air becoming thicker?"

"Yes. But what has that got to do with anything?"

Baltor stopped. "The concentration of magic is becoming thicker. We're getting closer. The essences of time will give off a lot of magic, as will Eilian. It takes a great amount of magic to maintain the time essences." He pointed ahead.

Diaspro turned, following his direction. She found herself facing the mouth of a cave. "In there?" She scrutinized the entrance. Strange hieroglyphs were carved around the opening. In the dim lighting, Diaspro could barely make out stalactites and stalagmites jutting out of the rock ceiling and floor, like teeth. An ominous feeling overcame her, making her want to turn around and give up on her plan.

"In there." Baltor didn't sound frightened. Instead, he sounded bored. "Eilian is within the cave. But we need to get rid of the curse that protects the cave."

"Curse?" Diaspro looked at the cave again. "What curse?"

Baltor motioned toward the hieroglyphs. "That curse. A foolish explorer would've marched on in and been destroyed by the spell that protects the cavern."

"Okay, let's get rid of the damned curse then! What do we have to do?" Diaspro made and orb of dark energy appear in her hands. She was about to aim the magic at the entrance when Baltor interrupted her.

"Put that away." Baltor said impatiently. "The blast from your magic will cause that destruction I told you about earlier." He smirked. "You're rather impatient for one so clever."

Diaspro ignored his jibe. She walked up to the entrance and looked closely at the hieroglyphs. "So what do they say then?"

"Those who trespass will receive the wrath of the scythe." Baltor stated. "You'll be cut into pieces then scattered over Tartarus."

Diaspro looked at him in horror. Baltor gave a nod, his golden eyes glittering as his smirk returned. She swallowed, then grimaced. They had to get in. "What do we have to do?" she repeated.

"There's always a loophole for those who are worthy of being in Eilian's presence, no doubt Bloom and her friends would find a way in." Baltor placed a hand on one of the hieroglyphs and closed his eyes. He gave a chuckle. "Yes. Of course. The cave opens only at a certain time of day."

"What time is that?" Diaspro asked. "High noon? Mid-morning? The witching hour?"

"No. We need it to be the hour of the wolf. The time said to be when all things die and are born." Baltor answered. "It's the time when nightmares are the most alive during rest."

"This place is trapped in twilight. The hour of the wolf is about two hours after midnight." Diaspro looked at Baltor questioningly. She'd heard of the hour of the wolf of course. It was one of the areas of study in Wicca necromancy. She didn't give the subject much thought. Her focus had been more on the power aspect of Wicca magic. Now she wished she'd paid the subject a bit more attention.

Baltor turned and walked away from the cave. He stopped next to a rock a few yards away from the cave entrance. Diaspro followed him and looked at the rock more closely. Earlier she'd dismissed it as a random piece of rubble. But looking at it closely, Diaspro discovered it had a sliver of rock jutting up at the center. Small nicks were carved in a circle around the edge.

"It's a sundial." Diaspro stated. "What use is it? There are no shadows, thus, no time."

He didn't say anything as a flame appeared in the palm of his hand. As the light leaped to life, Diaspro saw shadows grow out from the rock piece at the center. "We'll make it the hour of the wolf." Baltor said. He carefully circled the sundial, the shadow turned slowly. At one point Diaspro heard a small click.

"Stop!" Diaspro looked back at the cave. It hadn't changed in appearance, but she had a feeling… "I think it's time."

Baltor nodded and left the fire floating there in the air. "We've got two hours before this flame goes out. Let's go."

The two of them entered the cave cautiously. While the realm outside was saturated in total silence, the inside of the cave had echoed silence. The sounds of their footsteps echoed off the walls, adding an eeriness to the lonely dark. Diaspro's confidence grew the deeper in the cave they went.

"Well, no cursed scythe has come to destroy us yet. Let's find Eilian." Diaspro said with determination.

Baltor said nothing, and they continued walking. Soon, Diaspro saw a light ahead. "What's that?" Diaspro asked.

They stepped out of the dark tunnel into a dimly lit cavern. "It's where Eilian protects the time aspects." Baltor muttered. He walked toward the only two objects in the room. One was a marble throne, white in color. The other was a towering hourglass, filled with trillions of granules of sand. The room was devoid of anything else, including the famed Eilian herself.

"She's not here." Diaspro frowned. "This seems to easy."

Baltor walked cautiously forward. "It's merely opportunistic for us. The less opposition the better." He stood before the hourglass and watched the sand fall.

"So where are the time aspects?" Diaspro wandered about the barren room.

"In the hourglass." Baltor answered. He motioned toward the sands.

"Those are the aspects?" Diaspro walked up next to Baltor and leaned forward to gaze at the grains of sand more closely. "It looks like plain sand to me."

"Trust me. They're the aspects. Once we remove Bloom's from the stream of time…" Baltor pointed toward the steady stream of sand that lingered between the top and the bottom halves of the glass, "…the first step of your plan will be complete."

Diaspro clapped with excitement. "Yes!" Then she froze and turned to Baltor. "How will we know which aspect is Bloom's? There are so many…" Diaspro gazed silently at the sand.

Baltor waved his hand over the glass and whispered two things. "_florere scintilla reperio_." A single grain of sand separated from the flow and floated on the other side of the glass. "There you are Bloom."

"You're sure that's hers." Diaspro looked at Baltor for confirmation.

"Yes, I'm certain." Baltor punched the glass and the hourglass shattered. Sand spread everywhere and covered the hard granite floor. The single grain of sand landed in the palm of his gloved hand. "Time is so fragile." Baltor laughed. A vial appeared in his hand and he deposited the grain into it. "We best be off."

A voice echoed from behind them. "You aren't going anywhere with that aspect…"

* * *

><p>Bloom sat quietly contemplating in her bedroom. She'd been doing so for a couple of hours now, ever since that episode with her mother at tea. All she could think about was how she had to fix the mess she'd gotten herself into. Of course the only way to fix it was to destroy Baltor, but it definitely wasn't happening any time soon. Perhaps it never would happen.<p>

It didn't help that she had to take care of it herself. But everyone looked up to her and saw her as the strongest. She had to stand tall and strong in the face of all evils. There wasn't a single evil she hadn't defeated in the universe's eyes. If they found out about Baltor she'd lose all their trust.

The bright sunlight came through the open doors and played with the shadows on the walls and floors. A breeze fluttered through, moving the curtains and loose papers on a table in the corner. Silence filled the room until the door opened and one of the palace servants stepped in. She curtsied to Bloom.

"Princess Bloom? King Sky of Eraklyon has just arrived. We just thought you ought to know." The servant smiled knowingly at Bloom.

Bloom smiled back at the servant. "Thank-you!" She rushed past the servant out the door of her bedroom and headed straight for the stairs. Bloom hurried down the stairwell. Her gown rustled as her heels clicked on the marble flooring.

It would be a relief to see Sky again. To be held by him, To hear him say her name. To kiss him. She wanted to tell him everything that had bothered her for the last few months.

Her stride slowed to a stop as she rethought that last idea she had. She couldn't tell Sky. If he found out what she'd done, rather what she hadn't done, he'd hate her for it. She was certain of it. Especially after what Baltor had done to him and the other Specialists. Bloom shuddered. She couldn't do that to Sky. It was going to have to be her burden and her burden alone.

Bloom took another step and shuddered again. Her muscles went weak and her vision blurred. "What's happening?" Bloom gasped as pain shot through her head. Another shudder wracked through her body and Bloom leaned against the wall. "What's happening?" Bloom moaned as she felt something tearing at her soul. And she was dragged into a deafening infuscation.

**-Author's Note- **Sorry it took me so long to update. I had a hard time getting this chapter together. I hope you all will let me know if it's any good. ~Kyree Winx~


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4- Taking The Time Aspect**

Sky hurried up the stone paved walkway that led to the Sparks palace doors. The royal guards opened the towering doors and Sky entered the Sparks palace feeling lighthearted. The expansive halls of the castle yawned before him as the doors closed behind him. His eyes searched for the one person he especially wanted to see among the many people wandering the great halls.

He was excited to finally see Bloom after days of focusing on the royal affairs of Eraklyon. The past couple weeks had been especially harrowing for him; a few of his advisors had suggested that he take martial action against a realm that had disagreed to a necessary trade agreement. He needed to discuss his feelings about this with someone, and who better than Bloom? She would give him the advice he needed to make the right decision.

He spotted a man and a woman strolling together and chatting. They spotted him and he gave a wave. Miriam and Oritel walked up to him and he bowed. "Your highnesses."

Miriam smiled, a gentle smile that was welcoming to Sky. "Sky. It's wonderful to see you again. Bloom will be…"

"What's happening?" Bloom's voice echoed through the halls of the Sparks palace, her tone filled with pain and horror. Sky looked at Miriam and Oritel, who too were confused. "What's happening?" Sky was rushing up the stairs in seconds looking for her.

"Bloom?" Sky yelled, "Bloom? Where are you?" He heard Miriam and Oritel's footsteps behind him.

"Bloom?" Miriam called. "Bloom? What's wrong?"

Sky's feet pounded against the stone step and his heart beat faster than the steps he took. He saw Bloom, just mere stair steps away, leaning against the wall and gasping. "Bloom!" He reached out to grab her, but she was gone in the blink of an eye. "Bloom!"

"What just happened!" Miriam cried out in horror. "Bloom? Where did she go? Oritel?"

Oritel was next to Sky in seconds, surveying the wall. Sky threw himself against it, but it was solid. "She's gone…" Oritel just stared at the wall, dumbfounded. "She's gone." he repeated.

"We need to get her back." Sky looked at Oritel. Oritel continued to stare at the wall. "Oritel? Oritel, what should we do to get her back?"

Oritel shook his head. "I don't know…we don't know what just happened even. We don't know who's responsible for this." He closed his eyes. "I don't know where to begin."

"We can't just stand here!" Sky shouted in frustration.

Oritel was quiet for a second more. "No. We won't just stand here." He turned and looked at Sky and Miriam. "Sky, go and call the Company of Light, both the old and the new."

"Bloom. Where did she go? Where did my baby go? Bloom." Miriam muttered over and over as she stared where Bloom stood minutes earlier.

Oritel grabbed Miriam by the arms. "Calm down Miriam. We can't help Bloom if you're like this."

Miriam didn't seem to hear him. Oritel sighed and looked at Sky. "Go. Miriam will be fine. Get The Company of Light."

* * *

><p>Eilian stared in anger at the two intruders before her. One was a pretty little blonde girl whose features were merely enhanced by the evil smile on her face. The other was a man with powers that Eilian could sense from a mile away. The two stood before her shattered hourglass, the man held in his hand a container. "You won't be going anywhere with that aspect."<p>

The blonde laughed. "And you plan on stopping us, right?"

The man looked rather irritated with the insouciant blonde. "Eilian. The fairy entity of time." He looked at Eilian much differently than the blonde. His gaze held a mix of awe and respect.

"Yes. Drop the aspect, and you may leave." Eilian commanded.

The blonde laughed again, her beautiful laugh bounced off the cavern walls. "We're leaving with this damned aspect despite your orders. Step aside Eilian, or face defeat."

Rage filled Eilian. "Never. I am the guardian of these aspects. I gave you a chance to walk away from your desecration of my home. Now you will face the consequences." Eilian unpinned the gray cloak she'd been wearing and tossed it to the side, standing before them in plain gray robes. She threw a hand in the air. "Divinix!"

Her robes tore away, revealing instead a shimmering strapless dress decorated with swirls that fell to mid thigh. Silver accessories adorned both of her wrists, upper arms, and ankles. Her feet were bare and long gloves covered her arms. A simple silver band decorated her head and her brown hair fell back in untamed waves. A pair of angelic wings burst forth from her back and an hourglass hung from a silver chain around her neck.

"We won't be stopped!" the blonde snapped. She whipped dark energy at Eilian.

Eilian dodged the attack and looked curiously at the girl. "A Wicca fairy? You dare to use Hecate's magic against me?" Eilian reached up and pulled a scythe out of thin air. She took hold of the wooden handle. "Time tear!" Eilian cried and brought the scythe down, slicing through the air. As it sliced the air around them became hazy and the blonde was knocked off her feet by a silvery energy. "Pathetic." Eilian commented, holding the scythe before her in both hands.

The blonde glared at her and shakily got to her feet. "Dark quartz!" Crystalline structures colored deep violet erupted from the ground slicing through the air. One appeared beneath Eilian and hit her in the back. And she fell to the ground. The scythe fell from her hands and clattered on the floor somewhere to her right. The blonde laughed. "You're supposed to be one of the best fairy warriors in the universe! I had a harder time fighting Bloom!"

Eilian threw a blast at her, but the girl dodged it with unerring speed. "You won't leave my home with that aspect!" Eilian cried out. Energy flowed through her and the full power of time filled her. "Time warp!"

The air around the girl thickened and the girl was slowed completely. Eilian charged into the slowed time, but wasn't slowed herself. She made a well aimed kick toward the girl and the girl flew into the wall behind her with a thud.

The man had said nothing throughout all of this. He stood off to the side, observing the two women fighting. He didn't seem inclined to help either of them. He still held in his hand the vial. Eilian could see the aspect glint in the bottom of it, despite the aspect's small size. Finally the man pocketed the vial and walked forward. "Enough."

"What?" The blonde glared at him. "Let us finish this!"

"I said enough Diaspro. I've grown tired of the two of you fighting a pathetic and meaningless battle. Stand aside." He stepped forward and held out his hand. Eilian was lifted off the ground by some invisible force and slammed into a quartz pillar.

Eilian cried out in pain as she hit the pillar. The pain drove through her head and she saw bright spots before her eyes. She shook it off. "I can't let you leave!" she shouted.

"It's your duty to protect these aspects of time, but I'll bet you don't have a clue as to how important they really are." The man said quietly. His gaze was piercing as he stared Eilian down with amber eyes.

Despite what he thought, Eilian knew just how important the time aspects were. She know what he wanted. "You wish to destroy someone." Eilian breathed. "You want to destroy an enemy. There are…other ways. Just don't use this way. You don't understand how terrible a fate this way condemns. Leave the time aspect and leave this place before you make a terrible mistake."

The man smiled, a cruel and understanding smile that made Eilian shiver. "Yes. I do understand. I know of many things. And this…" he pulled the vial out of his pocket and gazed at it. "this is the way of chosen because it is the most incontrovertible, the most final of ways." He put the vial back in his pocket and pulled his energy away from Eilian. Eilian fell to the floor. "We're leaving." He said to his blonde companion.

"Finally." Diaspro rolled her eyes. "That took longer than I expected."

They walked toward the exit. Eilian spotted her scythe lying on the ground. She scrambled for it and took it into her hands. She stood to aim an attack at them, but the man turned and merely flicked his wrist. Eilian was forced to the floor, her head smacked against the cold marble. As the darkness swooped in to claim her consciousness she could only watch the intruders walk out with one of the aspects she'd sworn an oath to protect.

**-Author's Note- **I had a hard time writing this chapter. This story is hard for me to write, but I really want to write it. I don't know if that makes sense to you all or not. I'd appreciate some feedback.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5- Walls and Dead Ends**

Stella burst through the doors of the Sparks palace, not waiting for the guards to open them. Her heels clicked on the marble floors and she walked across the empty room toward the staircase. She climbed the stairs and spotted her friends huddled around a certain part of wall. "What has happened? I received a call that Bloom was in trouble."

The rest of the Winx looked at her, then back at the wall. "The unimaginable has happened." Flora said quietly. Her gaze never left the wall.

"The wall ate Bloom?" Stella joked. The Winx gave her a bunch of serious and mournful looks. Stella couldn't believe it. "Whoah! The wall ate Bloom? How the…"

"We don't know." Musa sighed. "Sky called us, we got here and he told us that Bloom just disappeared. Right here. One second she was gasping for air and Sky was reaching for her, the next she was just gone." Musa's dark eyes met Stella's brown eyes and Stella knew it was no joke.

"Well, what do we know?" Stella said cautiously, feeling a bit insensitive about her earlier statement. Sometimes she could be so dumb. "Did Tecna use her PDA or something to scan for the magic used? I mean, Bloom wouldn't just disappear like that unless magic was involved, right?"

Stella didn't like the frown Tecna gave her. "I tried using my computer to compare the magic here to the magic sequences I've got stored in my database. It would've worked too, if not for the lack of magical essence at this very spot."

"What?" Stella stared at Tecna in disbelief. "You're telling me that…that…no magic whatsoever?"

Tecna shook her head. "None."

Stella walked over and placed her hand against the wall. It was impossible. Magic wasn't involved with Bloom's disappearance? Then what was? It didn't make sense. "Perhaps, there was a natural cause?" Stella said softly, turning to Roxy and Flora. "You two are the fairies of nature. What do you think?"

Roxy shook her head and sighed. "Trust me when I say animals or animal magics weren't involved. And I doubt the plants would come up with some revenge scheme on Bloom, Stella. Let's face it. We're at a dead end with this ordeal. We've got nothing."

Stella turned and stared angrily at the wall. There had to be something. Anything. Bloom wouldn't just disappear like that. "There has to be something." She paced back and forth, the Winx all watching her helplessly. She stopped pacing when she heard footsteps approaching.

"Anything?" Sky asked hopefully.

"We're stumped." Flora said quietly and Musa snickered. "Yes Musa. I said stumped. Get over it."

"It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense." Stella muttered.

"Say it one more time. It might make sense." Layla suggested. Stella threw her a glare.

Sky shook his head. "She was in pain too. She was yelling in pain. I came as fast as I could. I reached the top of the stairs. Bloom was leaning against the wall, breathing hard. I thought she was hurt so I reached out for her. Then she was gone." Sky looked at the floor and clenched his fists. "Miriam's heartbroken. Oritel's trying to calm her down now. We need to find her."

"We're doing everything we can, I assure you." Tecna said calmly. "Bloom's tougher than any of us. She'll be alright by herself for a little while."

"Not if she's hurt!" Sky cried out. "She was in pain, remember? What if it was life threatening? What if she'd been attacked? What if she dies? What if she never comes back? I should have been faster. I should have held on to her."

"Sky." Roxy walked up to the blonde prince and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We could go on forever with 'what ifs' and 'should haves' but we can't exactly take back time we've wasted nor can there be more than one future. Understand that the 'should haves' will never be and only one 'what if' will come in the future."

"Words from beyond your years." Sky muttered. Stella felt her own angers and fears lighten at Roxy's words.

Roxy smiled. "They say I'm pretty level-headed and wise. Now let's look at this situation from another angle." Roxy stood next to Stella and looked the wall up and down. "Perhaps there's something other than nature and magic at work here. Something greater. More powerful."

Stella looked at Roxy in surprise. "But all we know is nature and magic. The two are intertwined with one another and together run the forces that make up life. I've never heard of any other sources."

"Maybe…" Tecna started, then fell silent.

"What?" Stella asked. She grabbed Tecna by the shoulders. "Don't bottle up now Tecna. Speak!"

"Maybe it's a different level of nature or magic than we're used to." Tecna said quietly. "We've got plant magic and animal magic. But there is more to nature than flora and fauna you know."

"Yeah, okay, okay. We'll consider water, rocks, and air too." Stella said.

"No. Well, yes I think they're a part of nature, but maybe it's something else entirely." Tecna took out her PDA and began typing furiously. "I'll scan for any anomalies beyond magic and nature and see what I come up with. If that doesn't work than I'll pick apart the natural aspects and do some comparisons."

Stella smiled. "Good. I'm glad you figured something out, even if I didn't get a damn word you said. The Winx won't give up."

* * *

><p>Baltor gazed at the grain of sand in the vial with fascination. Such a small thing could affect one's entire lifetime. If one just glanced at the grain they'd see a simple, ordinary grain of sand, like any other one you'd find on the beach. But upon close inspection, the many faceted grain held power, an immense amount of power. This alone intrigued Baltor. If one could harness all that energy within these granules, why they'd be skirting the level of divine.<p>

"Hello? Baltor!" Diaspro snapped her fingers next to Baltor's ear.

Baltor rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the impertinent fairy. "What is it now?"

"My revenge scheme is not finished. It isn't even close. Our next step involves finding Bloom's space aspect." Diaspro looked at the vial in his hand, then at him. "Why do you keep staring at that thing? It's sand! Exciting!"

He shook his head in amazement. Diaspro would never drop her ways of haste and ignorance. He'd given her too much credit earlier when he thought he was impressed. "Have you ever heard the cliché that there's more than meets the eye, Diaspro? I'll tell you now that that cliché applies to this sand, so to say."

"Whatever." Diaspro began fiddling with her hair. "I'm not sure where to start looking for this space aspect.

And people said men were dense. Baltor shook his head. There had to be some huge sign that said "Evil Plot Possibility Here" in the book she found her information in for her to come up with such a devious plan. "Well, perhaps we'll go back to the shadow realm. There has to be an entrance there. They interconnect all the realms of the universe." Baltor suggested.

Diaspro shook her head. "No. I don't think so. One it's space. It should embody all the realms. Two, it must remain parallel with time for harmonious balance. That's the only reason the universe isn't collapsing in on itself right now. Because time and space are parallel to one another."

"Well, the expanse of space has to be kept in one spot in order for there to be one fairy to protect them all. It was so with the time aspects and must be for the space aspects." Baltor pointed out. Perhaps Diaspro wasn't as dense as he thought.

"Maybe we need to use the opposite of the shadow realm for travel." Diaspro suggested. "Is there not a realm that runs perfectly parallel with the shadow realm?"

Baltor thought for a moment. "No. The shadow realm interconnects with all the realms, remember? Even if there were such a realm there would be no way for us to get into it."

Diaspro looked at him, surprise evident in her eyes. "Why is that? Isn't there some spell we can use to break into the realm? Do they have defenses setup for those who try to enter?"

"No. We're beings of darkness. We can't just enter and exit a realm of light as we please." Baltor fingered the vial in his hand. " No. There isn't a light realm perfectly parallel to the shadow realm. But…" Baltor gave a malicious grin. "…there is a form of travel that runs parallel instead."

"What?"

"Light travel." Baltor said carefully.

"But we're creatures of darkness, if you recall saying mere moments ago. We don't have the magic needed to use light travel. We'd have to be beings of light!" Diaspro said exasperatedly. "Let's face it. We're at a dead end."

"We don't have the magic. But certain others do…" Baltor chuckled.

* * *

><p>-<strong>Author's Note<strong>- Finally! Another chapter right? I hope you all enjoyed it!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6- Clues**

"We've been looking at this stupid wall for four hours!" Musa groaned. "Tecna? Don't you have anything yet?"

"I'm trying Musa! Stop complaining and I might try harder." Tecna gazed at her personal computer, baffled. Her database hadn't picked up anything so far. If she didn't find anything, then they had nothing on Bloom's disappearance. That meant Bloom was just gone and they couldn't help her.

"You're already trying your hardest, Tecna." Flora put a hand on Tecna's shoulder. Tecna felt comforted. "We know you're trying your hardest."

Layla was leaning casually against another wall. "What if we don't find anything?"

"Then Bloom is gone." Roxy said quietly. "And we have to explain that to Miriam, Oritel, and Sky."

Tecna focused harder on her computer screen. She wasn't going to give up. She was Bloom's last hope. If she was going to help Bloom she had to dogged with her attempts. She had to get a closer look at the files.

Tecna closed her eyes and held her hands over the computer keyboard. Slowly she tapped into her inner Winx and held fast to it. She then took the magic and spread it out before her. Tecna felt it spread from her palm to the computer. Her mind was immediately filled with files and information galore. Everything was organized, perfectly organized. Bits of data flowed past her and Tecna's mind sifted through them quickly. Though she was one with her database, Tecna could still hear the girls talking.

"Maybe we ought to check out the Sparks archives. Perhaps something like this has happened before?" Flora suggested.

"Oritel said that he'd look through them. But I doubt he'll find anything if Tecna doesn't." Musa sighed. "I hope Bloom's alright. This must be scary for her. Damn. All kinds of crazy stuff happens to her."

"I'll bet she never expected any of this when I brought her from Earth to Magix." Stella said, guilt apparent in her voice.

"Stella, Bloom was happy you introduced her to magic. She discovered the truth about herself, and that's all any person wants. The truth." Flora said. "And you brought her to Sky. You helped her find her parents. We all helped her to restore Sparks, her kingdom. I don't think you should feel guilty for all of that."

"Yeah Stell. You were the best thing that ever happened to Bloom. We're the best thing that ever happened to Bloom." Musa spoke with confidence.

"What about everything else? Icy, Darcy, Stormy, Darkar, Baltor, Ogron Anagan, Gauntlos, Duman, Countess Cassandra, Chimera, Queen Amensha, Diaspro. She gained enemies when I brought her into the world of magic!" Stella sighed.

"Yo, at least you weren't the cause for Mitzi. And Cassandra and Chimera were your enemies. And Queen Amensha has nothing against us!" Musa pointed out.

"Yeah, but she had to face all of them!" Stella stated. "And now this has happened. I've made her life a disaster." The group fell quiet, until Stella burst out. "Will someone change that light bulb for stars sake!"

Tecna pulled away from her personal computer database and opened her eyes. She glanced at Stella. "There are no light bulbs here."

"Torch then. I don't care! Fix it! The lighting is giving me a headache!" Stella held her head in her hands.

"That's new. Light giving Stella a headache." Musa snickered.

"But the lighting fine to the rest of us." Layla walked over to Stella. "I don't see anything weird about it."

Stella motioned toward the wall with a hand. "The lighting is acting funny over there. It keeps flickering and shifting strangely."

Tecna followed her hand and stared at the wall. Sure enough she saw the merest flicker of light. "Why would it flicker there's nothing to cause a shadow." Tecna slowly walked over to the wall.

"It's probably the dust." Musa said, bored. "It's nothing but our overly sensitive Stella at work."

"No. It's flickering." Tecna observed the flicker again. "That's strange. Flickering will only occur if there's something that forces the light beam to bend." She glanced at the windows. They were flawless and clean. "Why is the light bending?"

The girls had gathered and were all looking for the flicker. "What causes light to bend other that objects casting shadow?" Roxy asked.

"Prisms." Stella said. "But there are none of those either. I don't know of anything else."

Tecna watched as another flicker passed. Her mind was racing. Another flicker shimmered before her eyes. Then another. "Black holes. They bend light." Tecna rushed over to her computer and pulled up files pertaining to black hole studies.

"You think that wall's a black hole?" Stella asked incredulously. She glanced at the wall and at Tecna. "But black holes are only created by the collapse of a star. I can personally tell you that there was never a star here. Other than me."

"How do you know so much about this?" Musa said, annoyed by Stella.

"I'm a fairy of light. I've always been intrigued about my powers." Stella shrugged.

"I know there couldn't have been a star here. And I know there is most certainly no black hole here." Tecna tapped on the keys of her computer and opened her database. "But there are certain characteristics of black holes that may help us to figure this out."

"Like?" Roxy asked.

"Well, basically, black holes are fluctuations of time and space that cause a disturbance in light and matter." Tecna explained.

"Yeah. They suck it all in." Stella said.

"Thank-you for that very scientific explanation Stella." Tecna rolled her eyes. "I'm going to scan for a disturbance in the space and time of that specific spot."

Stella looked at her curiously. "You can do that?"

Tecna ignored her and focused once again on her computer screen. 'Please give me something,' Tecna thought to herself, 'I don't have anything else.' Then her computer began blinking and beeping. "Yes!"

"You figured it out?" Stella said excitedly.

"There's a fluctuation in the time aspect!" Tecna said, elated.

The girls all began cheering and congratulating Tecna. Tecna was smiling and gazing at the graphs appearing on her screen as the data was being read. She glanced up at Stella and saw she was frowning. "What is it Stella?" Tecna asked confused.

Stella's eyes glittered as she looked at Tecna. "What does that mean?"

Tecna stopped celebrating and was brought crashing down to reality. She took a deep breath and looked up at Stella again. "I'm not sure."

* * *

><p>Eilian's eyes opened and she groaned. Her head ached and throbbed with pain. She put her hand against it, as thought the touch would erase the pain. No such luck. Slowly she pushed herself to her feet. Her eyes swept about her home and she nearly cried out seeing the state it was in.<p>

"What…" Slowly her memory kicked in and she recalled her battle with the intruders. "They took the time aspect." Eilian mumbled. "I've failed." She stumbled her way over to the broken hourglass. Aspects lay scattered across the cold floor, glittering in the dim lighting of the cave. Eilian focused her magic and waved her hand. The sand swept up and flowed back into the hourglass. The glass slowly refitted itself together, like a puzzle. Light filled the cracks and the cracks disappeared completely. She placed a hand on the now whole glass and watched the sands flow again.

"I must get that time aspect back." Eilian whispered. "It was my charge and now I've gone and let them take it." She turned and stared at the crystallized pillars the blonde girl had attacked her with. "He called her Diaspro. She was a Wicca fairy. I'll use this information to find her."

Eilian turned on her heel and was about to leave her home when another thought dawned on her. "They're aiming to destroy someone. So they'll need the space aspect too. I have to get to my sister before they do. Aetheria needs to be warned." Eilian closed her eyes and once again called upon her divine powers. "Divinix." She summoned her scythe and gave her home one more glance. "I will return with the aspect. This is my vow." She sliced through the air with the scythe and walked through the tear she'd created.

* * *

><p><strong>-Author's Note- <strong>Whew. I had to do a lot of research for this chapter. Sounds totally sci-fi right? I had to give Tecna her moment. Go Tecna!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7- Hope and Disbelief**

Timmy watched Tecna as she held her head in her hands. She sat on the step with her PDA in her lap. Tears fell down on her keyboard. The Winx girls all stood around with looks of defeat and despair. The guys were trying desperately to comfort them and give them hope, but with no avail. Sky just leaned against the wall stoically, his eyes staring blankly out the window. No one had any idea how to help Bloom. No one understood what had happened to Bloom, for that matter.

The guys had arrived a couple of hours after the girls had. They'd been on a mission when they received the call from Sky, so they had to hurry with the mission and rush to Sparks. Hearing what happened over the phone made it seem unbelievable. But coming to Sparks and finding the girls practically in mourning made it entirely believable.

Timmy sat next to Tecna and glanced at the PDA screen. The charts still flashed and bar graphs bobbed as they measured the different frequencies of matter. Watching the bar graphs, Timmy recognized numbers. They were indeed similar to numbers taken at black holes. It was only missing the intense gravity readings. Otherwise the apparent bending of the light and the odd time fluctuations followed the pattern perfectly.

"You're certain it has nothing to do with magic whatsoever?" Riven asked in a slightly irritated voice.

"Tecna's rarely wrong Riven. If magic was used, we might've sensed it." Layla crossed her arms and stared Riven down. "Hell, we even tried using our Tracix. We got shit." Timmy could sense her troubled hostility.

"Cool it Lay." Musa placed a hand on Layla's shoulder. " We got this."

"Do we really?" Stella asked quietly. Everyone gazed at her in surprise. She'd been completely silent since the guys had shown up. "We never really had anything. Bloom had it all. Without her we're nothing." Stella closed her eyes and looked away from the group.

"No." Musa said sternly. "We might be missing Bloom, but that doesn't mean we're worthless. We're not nothing. Bloom was not the Winx Club. Us plus Bloom was the Winx Club." Musa grabbed Stella's hands. "We can do anything. We'll figure this out."

Timmy had to smile. Musa had a lot of confidence to spare. Hopefully it would be enough to spur all the girls. He turned his attention back to Tecna. "Well, you've figured the time aspect of that space had been tampered with. That doesn't mean anything now. But if you run it through the web and pull up resources related to time tamper, you may find something."

Tecna sniffed and wiped at her tears. She looked up at Timmy, her large teal eyes tinted red. "I did. Not a single solid piece relating to time tamper. It's never been done. The closest thing we came to was black holes. And well…" Tecna gave a sigh and glanced toward the light flicker, "…obviously there is no black hole involved here." She hugged herself. "I've never felt so useless and unknowing in my life."

"No one's perfect. There's a first for everything." Riven yawned. Layla smacked him in the arm and he yelped. "What?"

"You're being useless." Layla grumbled.

"Quit it." Flora pleaded. "I hate it when everyone fights."

"Did you check Oritel's collection of books?" Timmy tried, hoping to break up the tension. "He's got some pretty rare books. Maybe there was something in there?"

Stella shook her head. "Oritel had gone through the books. This is unprecedented."

Timmy fell quiet and thought. The event had never happened before. "And there was never a theory about it?"

"No." Tecna mumbled.

"These are unheard of forces then." Timmy said, vexed by the situation. He stared at the hard floor. He could understand what Tecna was going through. He glanced up and saw Sky with clenched jaw and blank stare. Both Tecna and Sky were suffering from the effects of not knowing. His gaze turned to Layla and Riven throwing each other glares. Even they were being affected by the tension.

Timmy sighed and stood up. "I can't take all your hostility and despair. I need a minute outside." Nobody moved as he walked away.

Timmy stepped outside, his eyes adjusting to the dark of night. The cool air made him shiver. The grounds were void of any life. He was alone.

"Sometimes people need to think alone." Timmy said to himself.

"Do you want me to leave then?"

Timmy turned and saw Musa standing in the doorway, her pale skin luminescent in the moonlight. "Hi." Timmy said. "You were right in there."

Musa nodded. "Somebody had to be. Everybody else was wrong, giving up so easily." She strode over and stared out over the grounds. "I couldn't take the hostility and the despair either."

"You don't have to leave." Timmy said, answering her question. "I can't think with people moping and staring one another down."

Musa nodded again and looked to the skies. "One can't give up hope in times where hope is needed." She tilted her head. "That makes me think about the story of Pandora."

Timmy glanced at her surprise. "The myth?"

She looked at him. "Some people believe those 'myths' to be true. That's why I always refer to them as stories." Musa returned her gaze to the skyline. "She was given a box she was told to never open. Curiosity got the best of her and she opened it. Turned out she released evil and sickness. She struggled to close the box. When she did, one thing was still in the box."

"Hope." Timmy said. "Hope is the one thing all humanity has been able to retain after all time."

"Yep." Musa agreed. "That's why I like to look at the moon and stars. They're lights in the dark giving hope to countless generations before me and many generations after me. At least that's what I believe…"

Timmy's mind snapped. "Believe."

"Yeah." Musa said quietly.

"No." Timmy said quietly.

"What?" Musa looked at him in surprise.

"Not believe. Unbelieve." Timmy turned and hurried back into the palace, Musa on his heels. He rushed up the steps to where everyone stood where he left them. "Unbelieve."

Everyone glanced at him like he was mad. "What?" Stella asked.

"I said the forces were unheard of. I think I was wrong." Timmy looked at everyone. Their attentions were locked on him now. "The forces are probably heard of, just not believed in. The force at work is probably one we know of, but we don't think of it as a real force." Timmy walked over and knelt next to Tecna on the step. "Cross reference time disturbance with mythological information."

"Timmy…that's…mad." Tecna said slowly.

"What else to we have? I figured it was time to resort to the absurd…no the unbelievable. We weren't getting anything from solid facts or theories." Timmy gave Tecna a wry smile.

Tecna just gazed at him a moment more, slightly dazed by his outburst. Then she nodded. "Right." She focused on her PDA and typed away furiously.

"You know this will work?" Helia asked Timmy.

Timmy looked Helia in the eyes. "I don't know anything at this point. We don't know anything at this point. All we can do is hope. Hope is all we have at this point." He glanced at Musa and Musa just nodded.

"Well?" Stella leaned down on Tecna's other side. "Are we getting anything?"

Tecna narrowed her eyes. "Actually…yes. My computer took me to websites containing bits of ancient lore." She clicked a couple times. "There are a number of myths pertaining to the aspect of time. One such myth was that of Kronos. He was a titan often associated with time. Then there was the god Khonsu, a god of the moon. There are a number of myths…"

"There's a god out to get Bloom?" Stella put a hand on her head. "How will we take on a god?"

"I doubt a god or a titan is seriously after Bloom." Brandon reassured Stella.

Tecna pulled up another webpage. "No…but a servant of his might. Has anyone ever heard of the Eternal Fairies?"

"The what?" Sky had snapped out of his blankness and joined the group.

"Apparently they're fairies gifted with powers of divine proportion. The one I specifically came across…" Tecna looked up, "…was Eilian. She was a fairy gifted with powers of time in order to protect the flow of time."

"Yeah and?" Roxy looked at Tecna. "What has all that got to do with Bloom's disappearance?"

"She's capable of working with time. Perhaps she removed Bloom from the flow of time?" Tecna suggested.

"But…she's mythological isn't she?" Helia pointed out. "How do you hunt up a myth?"

"You don't hunt up a myth. You look for clues." Musa stated. "So we look for this Eilian chick and we make her talk."

"Where do we find these clues?" Roxy asked.

Timmy glanced over Tecna's shoulder at the computer screen. "There are a number of cults claiming to have scrolls in association with Eilian's realm. Perhaps that's where we should start."

"It's a start." Tecna smiled and kissed Timmy. "More than we had in the first place."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note- <strong>Yay Timmy! Timmy and Tecna teamwork all the way! Hope you like this one.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8- Aetheria**

Diaspro frowned as she watched the Company of Light scramble for a lead. "So they've discovered that Eilian is involved." She turned from the scene and entered the shadows. "Baltor should know of this."

She stepped out of the shadow realm to find Baltor sitting and fiddling with the vial again. "Baltor. The Company of Light knows." she said in a controlled voice.

Baltor stopped gazing at the grain and looked at Diaspro. "Knows what exactly?"

"About Eilian."

He quickly stood up and pocketed the vial. "Are you telling me that they've found out about our entering the Keep?" His gaze was dark as he looked at her.

"No. They think Eilian did something to make Bloom disappear." Diaspro answered.

Confusion replaced Baltor's dark look. "Bloom's disappeared?"

"From what I was able to discern…yes." Diaspro returned the confused look. "I thought that removing her time aspect would remove her from the flow of time. Is she not supposed to be gone?"

"She's been removed from time, yes. That would begin to alter memories and past events she was involved in. But she shouldn't have been physically removed. She should still be on our plane." Baltor paced across the room. "It doesn't make sense."

"Then…where is she?" Diaspro asked slowly.

Baltor stopped pacing and removed the vial once more from his pocket. He stared at it. "I don't know."

"Perhaps she knows what we're up to? Maybe she's hunting us down herself." Diaspro glanced toward the entrance of the cavern they'd hid in. "It is something she'd do." She looked at Baltor, who continued his silence. "There's no evidence to explain her disappearance other than the mad ravings of one of the Winx."

"Mad ravings? What mad ravings? Which of the Winx?" Baltor lay out the questions rapidly.

Diaspro looked in surprise. "The technical fairy. She used her computer to observe an altering of the time of one of the walls. They said Bloom just disappeared there. After a string of ideas, they stumbled on the mythology of the Divine Fairies."

Baltor slowly nodded. "Those aren't mad ravings if they're coming from the technical fairy. She only knows logic. If it was from any one of the others…" He fingered the vial in deep thought. "Bloom's disappeared. There was an altering of time in the fabric of space." He glanced at Diaspro. "There's only one explanation. Someone has removed Bloom's space aspect. And it wasn't us."

Diaspro blinked and stared at Baltor. "Impossible. The idea I came up with…"

"…wasn't as original as you thought. Someone else seeks to destroy Bloom I gather." Baltor said solemnly.

"Who?" Diaspro asked. "Who would come up with something like my plan?"

"Nobody said they had to come up with the plan themselves. They could have borrowed yours." Baltor stated matter-of-factly. "Someone must've caught on to your plan and wanted the glory of getting rid of her themselves."

"No." Diaspro shook her head.

"Oh? And how do you know that you kept your plan well hidden?" Baltor mocked.

Diaspro clenched her fists. "Because before I began following Bloom I stayed alone at the ruins of one of Hecate's temples! I haven't had contact with another living being since Sky had me thrown off of Eraklyon and my realm abandoned me, not counting you! Everything…my plan, my powers, my studies…they were completed in absolute silence! I was alone!" Her fists shook with tension as she let her emotions loose.

Baltor seemed unshaken by her outburst. His pitiless gaze was locked on her. "And my eighteen years trapped in the Omega dimension were nothing compared to your few months of solitude." He said this calmly without any emotion. "I'm afraid you don't know what torture is, Diaspro. Very few of you who are of the newer generation actually know what true pain and horror is. I believe only Bloom has seen hell. No one else. Allow me to condole you, Diaspro; what Bloom's going through right now is ten times worse than your torture."

"Right." Diaspro said shakily. "It had better be ten times worse." She slowly unclenched her fists. She took a shaky breath. "So if no one else is plotting against Bloom, what are our other options? Who took Bloom's space aspect?"

Baltor turned from her and clasped his hands behind his back. "I don't know. But I know this may work out for us."

"What?" Diaspro stared in bewilderment. "Why? It means we've got competition! How would it work out for us?"

Baltor gazed at Diaspro, his eyes now dangerously bright. "We no longer need to get into Aetheria's realm to find Bloom's aspect."

* * *

><p>Aetheria stood quietly in the shadows at the ruins of an old Grecian temple. The stars winked above the roofless building, beautiful shards of glass against the black expanse of Nyx. In her hand she held a small crystal vial, and within sat the tiniest droplet of water.<p>

Aetheria didn't give the droplet a second glance when she was removing it from the fabric of space. She'd been caring for millions like it for centuries, so what was so special about one more? Why would Eilian contact her and actually tell her to remove an aspect? Aetheria trusted her sister more than everything with the exception of the gods themselves. But if she or Eilian were caught tampering with the very aspects of time and space they'd be thrown alive into the pits of Tartarus.

She held up the crystal vial and opened it. The small droplet floated up out of the vial and rested before her at eye level. Aetheria gazed at it and she saw the most beautiful kaleidoscope of color within the droplet. She knew how to read a person by the small droplet of water. Reading this one, she saw that the girl was beautiful, both in soul and appearance. She had lovely long red hair and wide blue eyes, so expressive. Those eyes had seen so much, and now the girl saw more now that her being was torn from space. Aetheria felt pity for the girl welling within her.

The stars above flickered and Aetheria stuffed the vial in her pocket. She turned and saw a figure standing yards away from her. The figure slowly approached her. "Eilian." Aetheria acknowledged her sister with a nod and took in her features. Eilian wore a plain gray robe, a perfect copy of Aetheria's dull gold robe. Her gray eyes gazed out from beneath the hood and as she removed it, her brown plaits fell free from the cowl.

"Aetheria. I'm glad to see you again. How long has it been?" Eilian asked quietly, her gray eyes glittering in the starlight.

"Two centuries, dear sister." Aetheria answered. "I'd rather we didn't exchange pleasantries though, Eilian. I just broke my vows by removing an aspect from the fabric of space. Why?"

Eilian gazed at Aetheria. "Intruders broke into my Keep and successfully moved one of the time aspects I was assigned to protect."

Aetheria stared at Eilian in shock. "Are you unharmed?"

"I'm well, just my pride in ruins." Eilian said bitterly. "Two intruders. One was a girl with the powers of Hecate. The other was a man and he had great power." Eilian's eyes flashed. "They removed the matching time aspect for the one I asked you to remove. They seek to destroy her."

"Do they know of the mess they'll create? The fabric of space will tear. The strand of time will unravel. Everything to the point of the girl's conception will be undone!" Aetheria shivered as she imagined the process the universe would resort to in order to prevent chaos. "Eighteen years of life would have to be rewritten for every person she affected. New fates and destinies would have to be created. The outcome of that event will be unpredictable. The gods would know if good or evil will prevail. Of course it will take time…" Aetheria trailed off as she noticed Eilian shaking her head.

"Not if they take the aspects to the Dais of Chaos. It will all happen so fast…" Eilian went quiet.

"They're mad." Aetheria commented.

"They're desperate. This girl has affected their lives greatly. That's why I told you to remove the aspect. They're looking for it. And we won't let them have it." Eilian stated.

"No." Aetheria agreed. "But if they are as desperate as you say they are, they'll find me eventually. And it is most unfair to remove the girl from space and time, practically from existence. We can't wait them out."

"If the girl were to remain in space, what would she live for? Only she would remember anything, nobody else would. Her friends, her family…she might as well be nonexistent." Eilian closed her eyes. "The time strand has already begun to unravel. I can sense it. They're already forgetting her infant years."

"Once the time strand unravels completely she'll be destroyed anyway." Aetheria glanced at Eilian. "We're running out of time Eilian. We need to retrieve that aspect, or everything as we know it will fall apart."

"Yes." Eilian sighed. "I will hunt them down. You stay in hiding with the aspect. If they find you, you need to contact me immediately."

Aetheria nodded. "Yes." Eilian began to walk away, but Aetheria stopped her with one more question. "Where do you think she is now?"

Eilian stopped. She turned back to Aetheria with a sad smile. "I don't know Aetheria. But it must be something like Christian hell or the Fields of Punishment. Could you imagine being ripped from reality and finding you may have never existed?" With that said, Aetheria watched Eilian remove her scythe, tear open a portal, and walk through it.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note- <strong>It's still unknown where Bloom is. Baltor and Diaspro think they've got competition. Eilian and Aetheria are forced to play with Bloom's life in order to stop Baltor and Diaspro. Tell me what you think.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9- Hunting**

"This is the remains of one of Eilian's temples. It was built by some early inhabitants of the realm of Magix. Centuries ago, people actually believed she was a goddess and worshipped her because of her powers. Of course the pagan religion fell apart after only half a century." Tecna said, reading off the information on her PDA.

Flora carefully walked among the ruins of the temple. It was very similar to the design of the classic Grecian temples of Earth she'd studied for Mythological Magics at Alfea. The roof of the building had caved in many years ago, leaving the top open to the skies above. The pillars had fallen due to centuries of elemental wear and the marble floors were scuffed with dirt and grime. She could almost imagine people gathering here praying to the Eternal Fairy of Time. "And it's always been here on Magix? They never talked about it at Alfea. And it's so close." Flora walked over to some vines that had taken to reclaiming the land the marble temple stood on.

"I 'spose not. Remember how it's myth not reality?" Layla pointed out.

"They didn't even talk about it in the myth classes." Flora stated. "I took all those."

"The readings here match the readings at Palace Sparks! They're actually stronger here. We're getting somewhere!" Tecna said excitedly, looking up from her PDA at the rest of the group.

"I feel like we're those crazy guys on that TV show "Myth Hunters"." Riven grumbled. "Only fanatics search for mythological beings."

"You got any better ideas Riven? We'd love for you to share." Brandon said.

"Why can't there be mythological beings?" Roxy asked Riven. "On Earth there was no such thing as fairies, witches, dragons, pixies, leprechauns, elves, unicorns, and stuff like that. And now they're all real! Why can't your guys' myths be real too?"

"There's no such thing as unicorns, but Roxy's right Riven." Musa walked up to Riven. "Our myths might be real too, we just haven't come across the right evidence yet. And I like that show "Myth Hunters". Those two guys are hilarious!"

"And we have no right to say what's real and what's not to people. We don't know what they think and we especially don't know why they think it. These people chose to believe in this myth, probably because it gave them hope in those early times of Magix. They needed something greater than them to explain how things worked and why. Perhaps they are real. Perhaps they really did see Eilian." Flora looked at Riven. "They might have been fanatics Riven, but they had reason to be so."

Riven grunted and crossed his arms indignantly. "Fine. But what do we do now. We're here at a temple, so what? I don't see any evidence and Tecna's beeping computer isn't convincing me."

Flora ignored Riven's complaining and carefully cupped one of the leaves of the vines. She focused on the life force within the leaf and allowed her powers to flow as one with the force. She merged minds with the mind of the vine. _'Hello there beautiful vine. I'm Flora, the Guardian Fairy of Nature and I'd like to ask you a couple of questions alright?' _

The life force shivered and Flora felt herself smile. _'Thank-you. Have you seen the mythological being Eilian?' _

The plant's life force shivered again. _'So Eilian really does exist. And she was here. When did she come here?'_

The force became warm and Flora frowned. _'She was here just last night? And she wasn't alone? Who was with her?'_

The force instantly became cool. _'Her sister? She has a sister?'_

Flora felt a hand on her shoulder. "Flora? What does the plant have to say?" Stella asked.

Flora pulled away from the life force of the plant and tenderly stroked the leaf. "Eilian exists. She was here just last night."

"Really?" Layla looked over the temple ruins. "Where is she now then?"

Flora sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. But she wasn't here alone last night. The vine told me someone was with her. Her sister." Flora turned to Tecna. "Does the world-wide web say anything about Eilian having a sister? Last night she was referred to by her companion as a sister."

"Well, myths report that Eilian was one of a few fairies gifted by the gods with powers over certain elements in order to keep the harmony of the universe. The fairies were known as Eternal Fairies after this because their powers were rumored to have come from divine entities. Only four fairies have ever been recorded, but none were said to have been related to one another. Perhaps her companion was one of them?" Tecna suggested.

"Whoah, whoah. These fairies are out to keep the universe in balance?" Musa looked confused. "Why would they attack Bloom then? Bloom's main reason in life these days is to keep the balance between good and evil."

Flora frowned. That didn't make any sense. "You're right. The myths state that they work to protect the harmony of the elements of the universe. They shouldn't be attacking Bloom then."

Riven crossed his arms. "Recall that we're referring to myths here. You said it yourself Flora. We don't know what these people are thinking or why they're thinking it. Maybe the people who wrote up the myths of the Eternal Fairies didn't know what they were talking about."

"Or…" Tecna closed her eyes tightly. "…maybe Bloom was causing disharmony in the universe. Perhaps they were taking care of the problem."

The group fell silent as the thought settled in. Bloom was powerful. She often swayed the balance of good and evil. Flora thought about all the times good has triumphed over evil because of Bloom. She remembered when Bloom had turned evil and how close the universe had come to total chaos. Bloom was powerful enough to disrupt the delicate balance between good and evil. She was more than likely powerful enough to cause disharmony between the elements.

"But…Bloom would never…" Sky clenched his fists. "She wouldn't! Don't they know that?"

Flora gave Sky a sad look. "They're doing what they think is right."

"Then they don't know what is right or what is wrong!" Stella shouted. Flora looked toward Stella. Stella had tears in her eyes as she spoke. "Bloom would never. Sky's right. And if these damn Eternal Fairies think that then they need a reality check! We need to find them and make them give Bloom back!"

"But they could be anywhere in the universe by now!" Helia said. "How will we track them down?"

"If I can hack into one of the systems of a satellite I can have my computer scan the universe for readings similar to the one's here and on Sparks. It appears as if everywhere Eilian goes, she leaves a kind of magic trail behind her. I can use this to track her down." Tecna's eyes glittered. "But I need a satellite first."

"You can hack into the Red Fountain satellite system. I used that to send out the signal I used to find you when you were trapped in the Omega Dimension." Timmy stated.

"Yes. That should work. The Red Fountain satellite is powerful enough." Tecna said quietly. Flora could see that her mind was already racing.

"Then it's settled. We're now hunting mythological creatures." Riven said. " At least let me be the better looking of the two guys on Myth Hunters."

* * *

><p>"Our sisters have betrayed their vows."<p>

Meira glanced at Kerrin. "I don't believe they'd do so without just cause."

Kerrin just tossed her curled raven hair back out of her face, an angry look glittering in her stormy violet eyes. "When the gods gave us our powers, Aetheria and Eilian both promised to keep the aspects safe. Now they're just pulling the aspects out of the fabric of space and the thread of time as though there will be no repercussions! We need to intervene, Meira!"

Meira just said nothing and stared into the vision before her. In the vision, she watched as Aetheria fled from the Space Tower, carrying the aspect away from its rightful place. Aetheria's golden blonde hair shone bright against the dim twilight of her sacred realm. Her blue eyes held a quiet uncertainty that few could ever read, including Meira herself. Meira always wondered why such a radiant beauty like Aetheria would take on the challenges of an Eternal Fairy. She always stood out in comparison with the others with her brighter looks. She was also the most delicate of the fairies as well as the youngest.

Meira then glanced at Kerrin. The Fairy of the Shadowy Darkness was quick to anger and easily the most violent when provoked. Kerrin always took her vows very seriously, and took offense when any of the others would step out of line. As Aetheria and Eilian were doing now.

Eilian was just as serious as Kerrin, but would do anything to get a job done, even if it meant breaking the rules. She had a strange intuition about her that often unnerved Kerrin, causing the two to clash. This intuition had earned her the right to care for the aspects of time.

Meira remembered when Kerrin and Eilian had first met. The two were made Eternal Fairies at the exact same time. Immediately, the two personalities clashed with one another. They never saw eye-to-eye, and this often caused the two to quarrel whenever the fairies had to work together to deal with a serious issue.

"Well? Are we going to stop them before they ruin the order of the universe?" Kerrin asked impatiently.

"We didn't see Eilian remove the time aspect." Meira said quietly.

"But we saw Aetheria take the space aspect and we know the two have met up. They could only be plotting against the gods." Kerrin said, trying to persuade Meira of Aetheria and Eilian's treachery.

But Meira wouldn't believe it. She knew her sisters well and they respected the gods too much to want to overthrow them. They didn't seek power. "We'll go to them, but not to apprehend them. Merely to talk. I want to understand why before we go blaming them for treachery they probably didn't commit."

Kerrin didn't become angry at this, and this surprised Meira. Instead she looked at Meira. "Perhaps you're right. But if they are working against us, we need to act. You can't protect them from the wrath of the gods Meira. That would be a terrible mistake on your part."

Meira didn't reply to this. She just stared at the vision of Aetheria and wondered quietly to herself why.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note- And the other Eternal fairies have become involved. Baltor and Diaspro have caused quite a bit of trouble for Eilian and Bloom both. What do you think?<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10- Degradation**

Miriam nervously wrung her hands as she stared out the window. Gray, heavy clouds had filled the skies that morning and now they dropped their contents down on Sparks. The rain spattered against the clear glass and dribbled down to the window pane in rivers. Just like the tears she was crying at that very moment. They just ran down her face and she let them. Until she heard footsteps approaching her room. Miriam gently brushed them away and composed herself as the door behind her opened.

"Have you found my husband for me, Henrietta?" Miriam asked in a controlled tone, trying her best not to alarm her personal handmaid.

"No your highness." Miriam watched her handmaid's reflection curtsy in the glass. As she stood, Henrietta's bright blue eyes stared at her in the reflection. "No one has seen or heard from him since this morning. Not even his advisor, Vladimir." Henrietta slowly stepped forward. "Are you alright, Miriam?"

Miriam turned and gave Henrietta a sad smile. "I am as a mother should be when her daughter is missing under mysterious circumstances." The tears she'd tried to hide finally overflowed and Miriam collapsed into a nearby chair sobbing. Henrietta rushed to her side and took her hand, speaking in soothing tone. Miriam just allowed her, even though she knew Henrietta's attempts were futile. Nothing could heal Miriam's aching heart. One child dead, another she never had the chance to raise. Her husband emotionally broken after years of torment. Her kingdom left in ruins and shambles. Her people locked away. She didn't know if she or Oritel could survive the loss of another child after everything they'd already been through.

"Oh, Miriam." Henrietta pulled Miriam into a hug and Miriam hugged her back. "They'll find your child. I know they will. You'll see."

" I can only pray." Miriam whispered. She pulled away from Henrietta and held her head in her hands. "I shouldn't do that. As Queen of Sparks I'm supposed to remain agnostic when considering all religions."

Henrietta chuckled. "And where in the royalty handbook does it say you can't have a religion?"

Miriam smiled. "I don't know Henrietta. I just assumed considering the many different creeds of people I reign over. To be honest, I don't know what religion to believe in anymore. Look at all that's happened…" Miriam clasped her hands in her lap. "…I mean what kind of a god would do this to a single family?"

"I don't know Miriam. But to give up hope now…" Henrietta glanced at Miriam, "What would your daughter say? What would either of them say? " Henrietta gave Miriam a small smile. "The women of Sparks have always had to stand strong in the worst of times."

"That we have." Miriam said quietly as she gazed once again out the window. "I need to see my husband."

"Oritel will come soon, I sure." Henrietta stated. "I've known you and your husband for a very long time and I know when you're upset, he's not too far off. He'll be here."

"Yes…perhaps." Miriam whispered. She placed her palm against the window. "We've been friends for a very long time Henrietta. We grew up together. You saw me get married."

"That I did Miriam." Henrietta said calmly as she began straightening out the room. "We used to play out in the garden when we were just babes." She smiled at Miriam again. "I used to help you sneak out of the nobility quarters all the time. We'd go out to the city and go dancing." Henrietta twirled with her arms in the air, her skirts sweeping around her feet as she did. "I remember how all the boys would stare at us too."

Miriam shared a laugh with her maid. "Yes, I remember. Although they stared more toward you. You always were a talented dancer."

"And your parents sent me after you to Alfea in an attempt to settle you down to focus on your studies. That was basically useless. You would always go out with your friends. I on the other hand sat at Alfea scrambling to make something of myself to do my family proud." Henrietta gave Miriam an all-knowing look.

Miriam blushed. "Well, I was a bit reckless when I was younger, wasn't I?"

"Indeed. And you met that handsome boy, Oritel." Henrietta added. "You fell head over heels for him. And then you learned he was a prince."

"The very prince of the realm I was from. Crown Prince Oritel of Sparks." Miriam sighed and feigned a swoon. "Yes…I remember. But might I say he was just as head over heels for me."

"That he was." Henrietta agreed laughing. "I remember he'd always stop by your room and ask for you. I used to ask him if he was just stalking you or if he was attempting to be romantic." Henrietta shook her head. "And then you graduated and he graduated and right off the bat the two of you married. That was such a beautiful day. And you two had to immediately take over Sparks because his father died."

"Yes. He was so sad." Miriam closed her eyes and remembered how she'd held him close as he cried after their wedding. "Oh, I don't wish to remember that."

"Of course you wouldn't. Oritel was so strong about it too." Henrietta commented.

'_Nobody saw him in his weakest moments. Nobody but me.' _Miriam thought quietly to herself.

"None too soon after that, you two had Daphne. She was just the most darling child I ever saw." Henrietta gushed. "I was proud to come back and be her nanny. Such a fussy child though. Colicky all the time I tell you." Henrietta gave a small chuckle. "According to my mother, she served as your nanny you know, Daphne got it from you."

"Mm-hm." Miriam said absent-mindedly as she concentrated hard. After a few moments of silence, the tears returned and Miriam broke off her concentration. "Where is Oritel? I need to speak with him."

Henrietta stopped her duties and returned to Miriam's side. "Will you tell me what is the matter now?"

"Go on. Continue with what happened after Daphne was born." Miriam wiped at her tears. "Please. It calms me."

"Of course. Well, let's see…ah yes. Then the whole issue between Sparks and the Ancestresses began to flare up again. They were threatening our realm. Oritel had called forth some of his strongest friends and formed the great Company of Light. You and Oritel led them in that fourteen-year-long battle with the Ancestresses." Henrietta sat down quietly and continued. "I stayed here and watched over little Daphne. She grew up beautifully, such a golden child with her blonde curled hair and heart-shaped face. Why, she reminded me of you, Miriam."

Miriam smiled. "She was the light of both my life and Oritel's. He always thought of her when we went away."

"Yes. She missed you terribly." Henrietta nodded. "Then there was a calm. The Ancestresses disappeared and you came home."

Miriam sat up and gazed intently at Henrietta. "And…continue Henrietta, please."

"Right. You, Oritel, and Daphne were wonderfully happy together…" Henrietta frowned and knitted her brow as though she were trying to recall something. "Something else had to happen. Something…"

"Bloom's birth." Miriam whispered. "You were there for Daphne's."

"Oh, right…Bloom…" Henrietta became flushed in the face. "Miriam…I don't entirely recall Bloom's birth. I mean…I believe I was there…but…the details are rather fuzzy." She gave a shrug.

Miriam sighed, the tears welling fresh in her eyes. "Thank-you Henrietta. That will be all, my dear friend."

Henrietta got up out of the chair and curtsied. "I do need to attend to other matters." She walked over to the door and opened it. Oritel stood outside just about to knock. "Your highness." Henrietta curtsied and put her hands on her hips. "Took you long enough. Your wife has been waiting most patiently for you to arrive. Get in here." She shook her head and walked past him out of the room. Miriam couldn't help but laugh.

Oritel cleared his throat. "Thank-you Henrietta." He stepped into the room and closed the door. "What is it Miriam? They said you needed me."

The humor of the situation dissipated and Miriam found herself sobbing again. Oritel was by her side in a heartbeat and he pulled her into his arms. "We'll find her Miriam. I promise you. I refuse to lose another child."

Miriam just let him hold her and let her tears flow freely. Like she'd done thirty-four years ago for her husband, he now did for her. "It's not fair to her Oritel. It isn't. Why us?"

She felt Oritel brush his lips against her forehead. "Because we're the only people in the universe strong enough to handle such a fate. I'm so sorry Miriam." He stroked her hair. "I will find her. Bloom will be safe again. I promise."

Hearing those words made Miriam cry even more. "Oritel? Oritel…I…I just don't know, my love." She gave a small moan.

"Why? We can't lose hope now Miriam. Of all times, now is when our hope has to be strongest. You said so yourself when…" Oritel stopped. "…I can't rightly recall, but you said it. I know it all may seem bleak now, but we'll pull through, with Bloom alive."

"Oritel…" Miriam pulled back from her husband and looked up into his dark brown eyes. "…do you remember the day Bloom was born?"

Oritel was about to say something, when he stopped and looked at Miriam. "Why?"

"Just answer the question." Miriam begged him.

He glanced down at her. "Well…" He paled. "No. I can't."

Miriam covered her eyes. Oritel pulled her into his arms once more. "I'm sure I'll remember it. I'm certain…"

"No." Miriam shook her head in despair. "No, you won't."

"What do you mean?" Oritel grabbed her hands. "What's wrong Miriam?"

Miriam took a small breath. "Ever since she disappeared…it's as though my memory of my youngest child has been disappearing as well." Miriam looked up at Oritel with a pleading look. "Henrietta doesn't even remember and she would've been there. Tell me it isn't so."

She watched Oritel as he too focused like Henrietta had. "Well…" His face became like stone and his grasp became stiff. "It's so. I don't recall her birth either. I don't even recall the short time we had with her before…"

"…before we left to fight the Ancestresses." Miriam whispered. "Why can't we remember those precious moments we had with her Oritel? I know I remembered them…but now…why?"

"I don't know…but I will." Oritel dropped Miriam's hands and headed for the door. "I won't lose my daughter. I won't lose Bloom. I will get her back."

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><p><strong>Author's Note- And the time degradation has begun. Of course Miriam and Oritel would be some of the first to notice the affects considering they were there with Bloom when she came into the world. Thank-you to my readers for the reviews. I loved reading them and it made me very happy to know that someone was reading this. Thank-you again and I hope to get more in the future.<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11- Affect**

Layla watched as Sky paced the length of dorm room. She watched as his hands clenched themselves into fists and then unclenched. She watched as his jaw tensed and slackened. She watched as he gave nervous glances across the room to where Tecna and Timmy were hard at work hacking into the Red Fountain school satellite.

'_He's so nervous for her.' _Layla thought to herself. She pulled up her knees and hugged them. _'Poor Sky.'_

"How much longer?" Sky asked for the third time.

"The school has updated their firewall Sky. It's a lot more complex than the version I hacked in to when I looked for Tecna." Timmy said as his fingers flew over the keys of the keyboard. "It will take us a while to break our way in."

"I don't see why we can't just ask permission to use the satellite and get the password." Tecna grumbled.

"Because that'd require us asking the tech department for permission to use the one satellite we have, which is funded for by the city of Magix for educational use only might I add, and that would mean months worth of paperwork to fill out. We don't have months. Breaking in will take at most a day." Timmy stated. "I can do it. Just give me some time."

"We don't have much time!" Sky took a deep breath and plopped down on the sofa next to Layla. Layla watched him hold his head in his hands. "We've already wasted a day trying to find the cause for her disappearance."

"Constantly interrupting Tecna and Timmy won't help find her faster Sky. They're doing the best they can. All we can do now is wait patiently." Flora chimed from the other side of the dorm.

"The moment we've got Eilian's location, we'll be there." Stella added. "I'll fly at the speed of light!"

Sky didn't smile at that. Nor did he look up. Layla unfurled herself from her huddle and scooted closer to Sky. "Hey. Everything will work out. You'll see." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "If I know Bloom she'll get through this. She's probably already got a plan to get herself out of this situation."

"I hope you're right Layla." Sky murmured. "I hope you're right."

Watching Sky like this, Layla wondered if she was ever like this after Nabu's passing. The moments before he'd died were so sharp in her mind, but after that it was all a blur. She recalled going on a revenge streak. She recalled taking Nabu back to Tides. But she didn't remember what she was like. She supposed she'd been sad and upset of course. But was she angry and nerve wracked like Sky was now? Layla even remembered a couple of crying episodes. Losing Nabu had been so traumatic for her.

What if she was lying? What if Bloom didn't come back and they couldn't find what had happened? Would Sky be able to heal like she had if Bloom died?

'_Would I be able to heal?' _Layla asked herself. Bloom had been such a close friend. She'd been broken after Nabu, but Bloom would probably shatter her completely. Not just her. Layla glanced around the room. Bloom was close to every person in that room somehow. Everybody would suffer from the loss.

"It just isn't right." Layla whispered. Sky looked up at her in surprise. Layla shook her head. "Bloom's affected so many lives now, her loss will impact the whole universe. Why would a greater power give her to the universe then take her away like that? It just isn't right."

"A lot of things aren't right in this universe Layla. You of all people should know that." Riven said from where he was leaning against the wall.

"Damn!" Timmy shouted. Every set of eyes on the room locked on him. "I can't do it! I can't get into the system even! My hacking skills must be rusty!"

"Well, dust them off and polish them shiny dude! We need to get into that system or else we'll never find out where Eilian is." Brandon walked over and leaned against the back of the computer chair. "Come on Timmy!"

"Enough." Tecna shoved Timmy's chair aside and it wheeled away from the keyboard, Brandon stumbling after it. "Let me at it." She held out her hands palms down and fingers splayed over the keyboard and closed her eyes. Layla could see her fingers twitch just the tiniest bit as though in time to some unheard beat. The screen of the computer flashed as numbers blinked across the page.

Sky and Layla glanced at one another and walked over to the computer. A number of different programs were being opened and them closed before there eyes. Layla saw that with a every twitch of Tecna's fingers a window would open and close. Tecna was totally in tune with the network.

"Be careful around that firewall Tecna." Timmy warned. "It sends out tracers that will attach and trace the location of the hacker. If we get caught the guys will get in serious trouble and we'd have to explain ourselves to the Magix council as well as Professor Saladin. That'll waste even more time."

Tecna didn't appear as though she heard him. She remained in her focused state. The room had fallen silent and everyone's attention was focused on Tecna and the computer.

The whole group jumped when Tecna flinched and yelped. Her hands clenched into fists and her shoulders tensed. Timmy looked fearful as he watched her and Layla felt her stomach drop. Would the firewall hurt Tecna? But then Tecna's fists unclenched and her mouth curved into a small smile. Layla held herself back from a whoop for joy.

"I've got it!" Tecna cried out. "I'm in."

"Go Tech!" Musa cheered. "If she couldn't do it we'd have nothing to go on!"

"I'm picking up a reading!" Tecna's smile became wider. "The reading is here on Magix! In fact it's not too far from the Red Fountain School! She's headed through the forest toward Lake Roccaluce!"

Layla had already ran for the balcony. "Winx Enchantix!" She shivered in delight as she felt her powers wash over her. Her everyday clothes faded away and were immediately replaced with a glittering skirt, long gloves, and a strapless top. Adornments wrapped about her bare feet and a tiara appeared on her brow as her hair arranged itself. She was over the edge of the balcony as soon as her wings popped on her back, flying fast over the raw wild of the forest.

It was hard to see through the dense trees, but Layla caught glimpses of the forest floor when she passed over intermittent clearings. She glanced behind her and watched the Red Fountain school fall further and further behind her. Ahead of her Layla saw the blue outline of the beautiful Lake Roccaluce. The wind whistled in her ears as she flew.

"Whoah Layla!" Stella flew up next to Layla. "And I said I'd fly the speed of light."

Layla glanced back and saw the rest of the Winx, minus Roxy, all transformed and flying, their wings fluttering rapidly. "Sorry. I'm anxious."

"We all are honey." Flora called.

"The boys are coming with Roxy on the leva-bikes." Musa shouted. "We're supposed to locate her and make sure we don't lose her."

Tecna held her hand out and a holographic map of the forest appeared, a trick Layla had seen Tecna used a number of times before. "I'm still logged in on the satellite." A blinking dot appeared on the map. "She's moving so fast." Tecna frowned.

"We'll be able to catch up with her right?" Stella asked.

"Maybe if Layla were to fly ahead and cut her off. Layla's the fastest at flying." Tecna called.

Stella looked at Layla, her brown eyes bright and glittering. "You go on ahead Layla. Cut her off and we'll catch up to her from behind. We're counting on you."

"Fly fast sweetie!" Flora gave Layla a reassuring smile.

Layla glanced back toward Lake Roccaluce. "Don't worry. I will." With that said, Layla urged her wings to beat even faster and she was propelled forward, ahead of the rest of the girls.

As she flew Layla's eyes roved the forest below for even a glimpse of her target. Her heart beat fast as she caught sight of a brown-cloaked figure running through one of the clearings. Just seeing their target gave Layla hope and motivation to keep moving. She looked ahead and pushed herself to fly even faster, ignoring the fatigue screaming at her in the back of her mind.

'_Fly faster Layla.' _Layla though to herself. She closed her eyes tightly and forced herself to go even faster. She could barely hear her wings buzzing like those of a hummingbird's over the whoosh of the wind. _'Fly faster for Bloom.' _She glanced down toward the forest again and saw the figure still rushing. _'Why is she rushing? She couldn't have spotted me or the other girls. Maybe she heard the guys on her Levi bikes? She's really fast anyways.'_

Suddenly The cloaked figure stopped running together and Layla whipped around to follow her. _'Why did she stop?'_ Layla wondered. She stared hard down at the forest below, then glanced back up to see how far back the rest of the group was.

Then Layla found out why the figure had stopped. Suddenly, Layla saw an inferno of fire rise up in front of her and she stopped her flight altogether and instinctively threw up her arms to protect her face from the scorching heat of the flames. Without the lift the fluttering of her wings provided, Layla fell flailing from the sky, plummeting straight down for the forest below.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note- And Tecna pulls through for the Winx again. What would they do without her? As for Layla, it sure is going to hurt when she hit's the ground. And they all may be in for a rude awakening when they find out who all is down there in the forest. I hope you all liked the chapter.<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12- Searching**

Roxy hugged Brandon tightly as the forest zipped past them. She felt the wind tugging her pink hair back behind her and she wished she'd flown with the rest of the Winx girls. She absolutely loved the feeling of flight, loved flying free like the birds. But ever since the Winx had returned to the Magic Dimension they'd only been using their Enchantix powers and Roxy felt alien compared to them in her Believix. So she resorted to simpler forms of transportation, like walking, jogging, or in this case, riding levi-bikes.

She could feel Brandon was tense and focusing hard on their mission to save Bloom. His shoulders were stiff and his arms taut as he steered the levi-bike through the trees and bushes. She supposed he hated to see Sky and Stella so distraught. He must've also grown attached to Bloom considering everything they'd been through. She had to admire him for his determination to find Bloom and bring her home safely.

An open clearing allowed Roxy to finally glance up and see the Winx girls flying far ahead of them. She noticed Layla wasn't with them just before they were hidden once more by the leafy canopies of the trees.

"I saw the girls! We're not too far behind them!" Roxy shouted over the wind, her voice slightly muffled by her helmet. She watched Brandon nod his head and somehow he got his bike to accelerate even faster. She glanced behind them and saw that the other guys were speeding up too.

Roxy closed her eyes and imagined that Bloom was flying free above them. Bloom waved to Roxy and beckoned for her to come fly with them. The thought made Roxy smile and she opened her eyes, her gaze fixed on the portion of sky she'd imagined Bloom. But she didn't see Bloom. Instead there was the thick leafy canopy of the forest. She blinked away the start of tears and focused instead on the mission. Bloom was the only one who truly understood Roxy because she too had lived on Earth. Without her, Roxy felt lost and alone, even with the other Winx girls. They just had to find her.

"We'll save you Bloom. Just like how you saved all of us." Roxy whispered.

"Did you say something?" Brandon shouted.

Roxy remained quiet and fixed her gaze once more on the sky above. They hit another clear patch and Roxy blinked in the intense sunlight. She was searching for the girls again when an explosion shook the area. Roxy even felt it on the levi-bike. She caught sight of flames rising up from the forest, and then Roxy spotted Layla…plummeting from the sky!

"Brandon! Layla!" Roxy pointed toward the direction she'd seen Layla fall, but Brandon was already driving that way. Roxy's heart was pounding as she felt another explosion shake the forest. Was Layla okay? What was causing the explosion?

A dark thought clouded Roxy's thoughts. Perhaps it had been Eilian? Maybe Eilian was targeting the Winx Club. An anger grew within Roxy and she glared ahead. She'd had enough of this.

They burst through the undergrowth into a clearing and Brandon whipped his bike around to a stop. Roxy was off even before the bike had completely halted, stumbling to her feet all while running forward. Ahead of her she saw three people caught up in a harsh magic battle. But her mind was focused on locating Layla. She searched the clearing frantically, but when she turned to the boys to ask for insight she saw they weren't even looking.

"What is wrong with you!" Roxy shouted. "You should be looking for Layla!"

Brandon had a grim expression, his stare locked on a particular person within the battle. Roxy followed his gaze and saw the man involved in the magic duel.

"It can't be." Sky muttered.

Roxy glanced at the guys and saw that they all had the same grim expression in their eyes. She glanced again at the man, then turned to Sky. "It can't be who?"

"Baltor."

* * *

><p>The line was endless. Slowly they trudged forward one step at a time, dreading and begging for the end of the seemingly perpetual wait. Some knew where they were and why they stood there waiting; they either stood with reflective patience while others were impatient and angry. Then there were those who stood in the line with absolutely no idea where they were, why they were there, and how they'd gotten there.<p>

Bloom was one of those.

She didn't remember arriving at that place. She couldn't recall the moment she'd stepped into the endless line of people. She'd even had trouble retaining her own identity for mere moments. Not that those mere moments were significant, considering that place seemed eternal. But then she remembered her name, her family and friends, her life story, and she was left instead wondering where she was, how she'd gotten there, and why she had been sent there.

Why was she, Princess Bloom of Sparks, there?

Bloom had tried socializing with some of the others who stood in line with her in an attempt to gain some information about…anything, really. But they either sat in resolute silence or screamed maniacally, so she gave up on that idea. That's when she took to trying to pick out the details of the place. But she found she couldn't gather any concrete information on that either. Just that it was dark and dismal.

Bloom closed her eyes and took a deep breath to fight back the tears and panic. She had to decide what she was going to do.

_Escape._

The single word echoed through her head and her heart began to beat faster. What was the point in deciding when there was only one thing to do? What was the other part of her decision? To stand there in the endless line for eternity and let everything she'd made for herself in life go? Bloom glanced around and carefully approached the point of stepping out of line.

But then she stopped. Her blood pounded in her ears, her breaths came in shorter, quicker breaths. She felt something, something that compelled her to turn around and stand once more in line. Her gut told her that if she stepped beyond the line something bad would happen to her. Something irreversible.

Bloom shivered and gazed off into the darkness that existed just beyond the line, searching to the source that would make her feel that way. But she saw nothing.

When she tried to urge herself beyond the point again, she glanced up quickly and stumbled back at what she saw. Eyes, cruel and heeding surrounded the line, hidden by the darkness. As she stumbled back they became invisible once more, but she knew they were there. She stood up at the point beyond the line and glared into the darkness, fighting the nearly overpowering urge to stand quietly back in line.

"I see you!" Bloom shouted angrily. "Who are you? Why have you brought me here? What is here?"

Moments passed and Bloom felt her hope beginning to break to pieces. Would she get any answers? Then a figure broke free of the dark invisibility and walked toward her.

"You are not dead. You are not a spirit or a soul." The voice was filled with minor curiosity, but sounded just as cruel as its gaze.

"Okay. You've answered one of my unsaid questions." Bloom said annoyed. "Now what about those other questions?"

"We're the watchers of the line. We keep souls and spirits from leaving the line. We've never had to watch a living being in the line before. And you are so far up in the line too."

Bloom gawked at the figure. "So far up? What do you mean 'so far up'? I haven't seen an end to this line yet!"

The figure cocked its head at her. "You will face judgment soon."

"Judgment? Whatever for?" Bloom stared for a moment. "You mean like judgment for getting into heaven or hell or something of that sort? But you said I'm not dead!"

The figure shrugged, indifferent to her protests. "You are among the dead. Those who stand in line await judgment for their completed time in life. Your time must be up. You will be judged with the rest."

"No…wait. I don't understand! How can the time of my life be up if I'm not dead! And my body still contains my soul obviously! I must still be alive!" Bloom sighed angrily. "How did I get here? Why am I here? Give me answers."

"I cannot answer questions I do not know the answers to. Your questions of why can only be answered by Fate. And Fate answers to no one." The figure began to draw back into the darkness. "Stay in the line. Or else…"

"Or else what ? What will happen! Hello!" Bloom shouted at the darkness after the figure but the figure said nothing else to her. Bloom was ushered forward a step as the whole line of souls stepped forward. Just as she was beginning to despair her situation, Bloom made out the faint outline of a building in the distance and she finally saw the end of the line.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note- Okay, I apologize for not updating sooner but I had a sudden lapse in creativity lately. I think it has something to do with school. You've all been wondering where Bloom is and I hope this chapter will help you all out a little bit. Please review!<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13- Unexpected Leads**

As soon as she saw Layla falling out of the sky, Musa went flying after her. Her heart pounded, her wings hummed as she sped, and the wind whistled in her ears; everything seemed to be creating an _agitato _tempo music. "Layla! I'm coming!" Musa shouted.

Musa had never flown so fast before in her life. Compared to the other Winx girls she was slower when it came to flying. But at that moment, her speed could have probably competed with Layla's flying speed. Everything blurred past her, like some kind of psychedelic vision filled with vibrant colors and loud sounds. But Musa's attention remained focused on the falling form of Layla.

The distance between Musa and Layla was shortened until Musa was finally able to reach out and snatch Layla by the hand. Layla's downward inertia nearly dragged her down into free fall, but Musa pushed her wings to their limit. The two of them did fall, but they didn't hit the ground with quite as much impact they could've. However, their meeting with the ground still knocked the breath out of both of them and the two were left lying there, panting and gasping for air.

"You alright?" Musa finally asked after her labored breathing finally caught up with her pounding heart. "Scared the crap out of me!" She quickly scrambled to her feet and held out her hand to Layla.

"Scared the crap outta myself." Layla replied. Grabbing Musa's hand, she stood up and looked toward the direction the flames had risen from. Her teal eyes held a mixed look of both fear and awe. "What the hell could have caused that inferno?"

Musa frowned and followed Layla's gaze. "Hell perhaps?" Musa answered. She heard a sharp crack and clash in the distance, a familiar sound similar to sounds she'd heard all too often ever since she'd began her training at Alfea. "Sounds like a battle is going on."

Layla bowed her head and gazed at the ground for a moment, then caught Musa's gaze. "Someone else is hunting Eilian. I'm sure of it. She was obviously running from someone and I'm certain it wasn't us." Layla stated. "And whoever it is has some major power to back them up. We'd better go check it out."

Musa nodded and the two of them forged their way through the undergrowth on foot. Musa would've flown, but she'd landed on her wing when she hit the ground and the delicate appurtenance felt sore. She carefully fluttered her wings and winced as pain shot through her back. She wouldn't have fun flying with that if the situation demanded it.

"The other girls must've gone to check out the source of the attack." Layla said quietly. "Hopefully they're on our side. Our mission to save Bloom is already taking too long. We don't need to handle another enemy now."

Musa agreed. But an odd feeling within her told her that whoever was hunting Eilian wasn't about to play friendly with the Company of Light, and she told Layla so. " My intuition isn't giving me a hopeful feeling about this 'ally'." She glanced at Layla, who said nothing to the comment. But Musa could see that Layla had the doubts as well.

Another explosion shook the forest and Musa and Layla gave each other nervous glances before rushing toward the source. A familiar shout echoed through the trees and a bright light lit up the foliage. Stella had obviously found Eilian or the inferno source and was trying to take them out. Musa felt her heart speed up again for fear for her friend. Finally they stumbled through the last barrier of undergrowth onto the scene.

From what Musa could surmise, the rest of the Winx had just come on the scene themselves. Flora and Tecna landed on the ground, standing between Musa and whoever the enemy was. Stella was up in the air, prepared with an energy blast in hand for whatever Eilian could dish out. Beyond them, Musa could barely make out the figures of what must have been the guys and Roxy.

"Solar ray!" Stella screeched and threw a comet-like ray of light at the enemy. Musa watched in horror as the light flew then stretched and warped like it was rubber. Then the light disappeared.

"Green luxurious ivy!" Flora cast her energy from her palms toward the enemy. Vines rose up out of the earth and whipped out, attempting to wrap around someone. The air surrounding the vines became distorted suddenly by some unseen power and Musa stared in shock as Flora's vines fell limp to the ground.

Amidst the limp vines stood a girl, appearing to be about Musa's age. She had long, golden-blonde hair and depthless blue eyes that peered out from her heart shaped face. The girl wore a simple brown robe with the hood lying down her back, apparel that hid most of her body from sight. She held an air of grace about her as she stepped forward, the brown robe rustling with each step. "Please stop."

Musa watched as the Winx all stopped their assaults and stared at the girl with looks of confusion and awe. Why would an enemy beg for the fight to halt before it even began? Then an explosion erupted behind the girl and she was thrown off her feet to the ground. Flora and Tecna threw up their hands to shield their eyes, while Stella, who was just above the girl, hastily attempted to throw up a shield. Stella's attempt failed and she fell to the ground next to the girl.

The blaze dissipated quickly after throwing the unsuspecting fairies to the ground and two figures came into view. Who Musa saw made her gasp in horror and struggle with inner feelings of frustration and dread. She clenched her fists and the names Layla muttered sent shivers of anger down her spine.

"It's Baltor and Diaspro." Layla whispered, her voice laced with horror and incredulity.

"How are you alive?!" Stella snapped. Musa noticed she seemed to be less amazed than the rest of them. "Bloom destroyed you!"

A look of displeasure crossed Baltor's face, but he didn't reply. Instead Diaspro stepped forward and directed a question at the girl. "Where is it?"

The girl was on her feet now and slightly raised her chin in defiance. Musa had to admire the grace with which the girl moved and acted. Her blonde hair shone bright in the sunlight as she stood her ground. "Where is what?"

Diaspro made a move to throw another blast at the girl, but Flora intervened. "Ivy cantata!" Flora cried out. Writhing vines erupted from the ground and wrapped tightly about Diaspro. Diaspro cried out in shock and struggled against her bonds.

Musa cast her gaze toward Baltor and felt her confusion grow greater. Baltor made no move to help Diaspro. Rather, he stood back and watched as Diaspro fought off Flora's vines. He caught Musa looking at him and moved forward, extending his hand to cast a spell of his own. "Vites excidere!" The vines sliced up and Diaspro pulled herself free from the green ropes.

"Suspendisse tellus reicio meam hostes ausi resistere et animalia nascuntur in via!" Diaspro shouted in retaliation.

The ground beneath them rumbled and cracks ripped through the open clearing. Obsidian, crystal-clawed creatures climbed out of the cracks in hordes. The crawled straight for the Specialists and Winx, jaws snapping.

"What dark magic have we tapped into now Diaspro? Did Baltor supply you?" Stella threw light filled blasts at the creatures.

"No fairy is supposed to use necromancy! It's against the laws of magic! Only witches and wizards work with the dark arts!" Tecna glanced toward Baltor nervously, then looked back at Diaspro. "Your fairy powers wouldn't allow it!"

"It's a good thing I've tapped into my inner witch then." Diaspro threw her hands into the air and dark crystalline structures forced their way upward from the earth. "Give me the aspect, Aetheria!"

"Aetheria?" Musa glanced at the blonde girl.

"You will not have that which you have asked." Aetheria said daringly. "It is my duty to protect the aspects of space and I cant allow you to mishandle them!" She produced a spear from out of nowhere and pointed it toward Diaspro. "I will do everything to stop you!"

"Right." Diaspro said sarcastically. She threw a dark orb at Aetheria.

Aetheria lithely dodged the attack and threw her spear at Diaspro. The spear hit the ground before Diaspro and from the impact erupted a distortion that threw Diaspro off her feet. Diaspro scrambled to her feet and lunged for Aetheria. "Give me that aspect! Now!"

"Harmonic beam!" Musa raised her hands and an intense beam of musical energy hit Diaspro back from Aetheria. "What's all this chat about aspects?" Musa demanded, her gaze pinning Aetheria on the spot. But Aetheria didn't even seem phased. Another spear in hand, she charged Baltor.

"Please Aetheria." Baltor sneered and vanished as Aetheria was about to attack him. "I was able to defeat your sister Eilian. What makes you think you can take me?" Baltor appeared behind Aetheria and grabbed her spear with both hands. Aetheria struggled to pull it back, but froze when Baltor's face came in close to hers. "I'm surprised the gods would choose someone as weak and pathetic as you to protect the aspects of space."

Aetheria snapped out of her fear and lashed out with her foot, kicking Baltor in the chest. Backing away with her spear in hand, Aetheria raised her free hand in the air. "Divinix…"

Musa watched in awe as the girl's robes faded away, leaving her standing in a bright cream-colored dress, cinched at the waist with gold chains. Similar chains wrapped their way up her arms and encircled her neck and a gold tiara took form upon her brow. Wings erupted forth from Aetheria's back and a crystal vial of water swung from a chain about her neck.

"Eilian pulled that trick too you know…" Baltor chuckled and summoned dragon fire in his hands. Aetheria said nothing and grasped the shaft of her spear. "Of course that didn't help her any. I'm stronger than you pathetic little fairies ever will be."

"Spatial reverberation!" Aetheria stabbed her spear into the ground before her and energy rippled away. It smacked into Baltor and he slid back on his feet, crashing into a tree at the edge of the clearing. Musa felt the energy rip through her and force her to the ground. The creatures Diaspro had summoned shattered to pieces, their horrid cries echoing through the clearing. The others fell to their hands and knees as well.

"What power!" Musa exclaimed and yelped as the power intensified. She struggled to rise to her feet, but the force was too strong. The roar of the energy made it near impossible to hear anything, but Musa could barely pick up the cries and yells of her friends.

"Someone needs to kick this chick to the curb!" Layla growled, her own struggle against the force evident in her strained voice. "No one should be allowed to wield that much energy!"

"I can't move!" Stella lamented. "She's too strong!"

"The readings are all wrong!" Tecna called out from yards to Musa's left. "These aren't the same readings we found back at the Domino Palace! This girl had nothing to do with Bloom's disappearance!"

Musa's heart fell. Their only lead was a dead-end. But they couldn't just abandon it now that a new threat had reared its ugly head. They were going to have to put Bloom's rescue on hold until they could finish Baltor off and take care of Diaspro, and Fate only knew how dead their trail was already. "Okay! Winx change of plans…" Musa began, trying to project her voice enough for them to hear.

She was cut off when the power stopped abruptly. Musa quickly glanced back at Aetheria. Aetheria had been tackled by Diaspro and the two were grappling with one another and the ground. Diaspro's hand snatched at the crystal vial Aetheria wore about her neck and yanked hard. The chain snapped and Aetheria cried out in dismay. "Thank-you." Diaspro purred. She scrambled away from Aetheria and ran for Baltor. "We're out of here."

Baltor stood and waved his hands and the two disappeared in a flash of light.

"No!" Aetheria screamed. She pounded her hands on the ground and bowed her head, tears streaming down her face.

"Aetheria?" Roxy approached the distressed fairy with apprehension. "Aetheria? Are you all right?" She gently placed a hand on Aetheria's shoulder and jumped when the fairy threw her head back and gazed at the blue skies above. "Aetheria?"

"Gods forgive me! Zeus hear me! I have failed you! I have failed my sisters! And I've failed the girl to whom the aspect belonged." She bowed her head again and her body shook with silent sobs. "I've failed one of the greatest souls to walk Fate's path. I've failed you… Bloom."

* * *

><p><strong>-Author's Note- <strong>Whew! I haven't updated in nearly a year! Guess I was so caught up in Martyr. Here's the chapter you've all been demanding since… I guess last October. Figured I'd better take up this project again. Tell me what you think. ~Kyree Winx~


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14- Allied**

The clearing was silent for seemingly endless seconds. Even the wind and the trees surrounding the clearing seemed to cease their natural noise in response to the gravity of the situation Everyone, with the exception of the distressed Aetheria, was frozen where they stood expressing feelings of shock and confusion. Helia's own mind raced to register the meaning behind the strange fairy's outburst. Before he could come to a conclusion, Sky suddenly broke free of his shock and strode over to the girl crouched on the ground. He roughly grabbed the girl by the shoulders and dragged her to her feet, shaking her. "WHERE'S BLOOM!?"

"I… I don't know!" Aetheria stuttered, her wide, blue eyes glittering with tears. She made no effort to fight back as she hung limply in his grasp. "I… I failed!"

"Sky!" Helia watched as Layla rushed up and grabbed Sky's arm. She determinedly yanked at him to break his grasp on the distraught girl. "Let her go, Sky! She was trying to protect Bloom! Didn't you hear her?" When Sky didn't respond, Layla's voice got low and ominous and Helia felt a shiver rush down his spine. "Let her go, Sky."

Sky released the girl from his clutches and she fell limp to the ground before him. He clenched his shaking fists at his sides and bowed his head with his eyes closed. "What do we do now? What can we do now? What the hell is going on?" He opened his eyes and glared accusingly down at the girl before him. "TALK!"

"Sky, quit!" Layla shoved him hard, then knelt before the shivering girl. She cast an angry glance back at Sky. "Let's be rational. I know it isn't your strong suit, but try anyway!"

"How can anyone be rational about this!?" Sky fumed. "This girl has had a hand in Bloom's disappearance! Baltor is back! He and Diaspro are working together! Damn it all Layla! We've got a crisis on our hands!"

Layla got to her feet and gave Sky a steely cold look. Helia could've swore he heard the ocean roaring in the air about them. "To think that you're the future King of Eraklyon doesn't give me much in terms of confidence Sky. You can't react like this every time a disaster strikes. A good ruler needs to keep their feelings in check and assess the situation. We need to talk calmly to Aetheria, not shake her senseless and reduce her to a teary mess."

"You're one to talk about keeping feelings in check! What did you do when Nabu died? Let's see, go all out on a revenge streak?" Sky snapped angrily.

Sky's statement stirred up all the guys and the girls. They all shifted nervously and shared fearful glances with one another. Sky had just crossed a line with unpredictable consequences. Helia kept his eyes locked on the scene before him, silently hoping the situation would resolve itself before things got too bad. "Don't you start with me…" Layla warned, her tone low and dangerous.

"Don't get in my way!"

Helia's hopes remained hopes as the tension snapped and Layla marched straight up to Sky and jabbed him in the chest. " Look! I sympathized with how you felt before but now you're taking things too far! Now you're just pissing me off!"

"Good! A reaction this situation deserves!" Sky snarled.

The look the two gave one another made Helia think the fight was about to get physical so he decided to finally step in. "Alright!" Helia got between the two and held them apart. "This is not helping at all! Sky walk it off! Layla take a breather! Let me talk to Aetheria. I'll get to the bottom of this. We'll stop Baltor and Diaspro. We'll save Bloom. Everything will work out." Silently praying his effort was worth the risk, he slowly dropped his hands and watched as the two held their angry glares for moments more. Then they both stomped away.

Helia felt relief flood him and he saw it also swept through the rest of the group. "Whew… That would've gotten ugly." Musa commented. "I mean… I wouldn't want to be around to watch those two fight! They both have mad skills and all…"

Flora inched forward leaned down toward Aetheria. "Hey… you were trying to help Bloom, huh?" When Aetheria didn't answer, Flora continued, invoking a friendly tone to ease Aetheria's silent mourning. "Thank-you for trying. She's one of our good friends and we need to get her back. We're really afraid for her."

"Anything you could tell us would be helpful." Musa added as she too stepped forward. She wrung her hands as she looked down on the despondent fairy. "We need her."

"I just want my best friend back!" Stella said pleadingly. "I'm so scared for her."

Helia carefully crouched down next to Aetheria, gently placing his hand on her slender shoulder. "You did what you could to stop them, I'm sure. You wouldn't be this sorry if you hadn't. If you hadn't tried as much as you could, you wouldn't care this much." Aetheria looked up at him then, her blue eyes wavering, but less teary than before. Helia wracked his memory for something to draw questions from. "You said something about aspects before… Is that what Diaspro snatched from your neck?"

Still shaking, Aetheria took a small breath and nodded slowly. "Yes… The space aspects are my charge. I was chosen by the gods to protect these aspects that reside in the fabric of space. I'm one of several entity fairies who ensure that the natural laws that keep the universe from imploding aren't broken. Certain… phenomena cannot reside together so to speak. They must be kept apart at all costs."

"Such phenomena being what exactly?" Tecna questioned, her skepticism evident in the tone she used.

"In this case, time and space. They meet eventually I suppose. When the two phenomena meet, events of cataclysmic proportion would ensue. But within the extent of our magical universe we work to prevent such a meeting. It's why everything is."

"You mean you're responsible for the universe not collapsing in on itself and imploding?" Tecna said with disbelief.

Aetheria glanced at her as if the question surprised her. "Well, yes… I suppose my sisters and I are."

"Deep." Musa said. Her brow furrowed as she addressed Aetheria again, "So you all kinda work like the Golden Kingdom?"

"No." Aetheria shook her head. "We don't consider situations that disrupt the balance of power within the universe. We don't work to keep balance inside the magical universe. More or less, we watch the borders and the general running of the phenomena associated with the universe. We don't work individual cases like this either."

Timmy frowned and pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. "There's a flaw in your logic. Bloom would be an individual case, so why would you take an interest in her disappearance?"

Aetheria blinked and looked at Timmy as though the answer was obvious. "As her friends you should know why. She's done so much for the magical universe. To remove her thread from the tapestry would unravel practically everything in a manner of speaking."

"Whoah, whoah! Let's not go unraveling any threads now!" Musa interjected.

"It cannot be helped now. Diaspro and Baltor have both the space and time aspects." Aetheria shook her head. Everything as you know it is about to be undone… some of you may not even exist after this, not if you are younger than the date of her conception."

"But Bloom's destiny has been foretold for centuries." Tecna said quietly. " Remember what Bartleby cited from the Book of Fate? There was a prophecy about us entering Obsidian and freeing Domino. Everything back to the point some seer predicted Bloom's destiny would be undone."

Helia felt his heart drop as he watched Aetheria's eyes widen and shine with trepidation. She made some motion with her hands, as if to ward off evil or draw divine favor. "Gods help us…" she whispered.

"How in the universe could this have happened?!" Stella held her head in her hands and closed her eyes tight. She slowly shook her head as though she were trying to rid her mind of all the overwhelming thoughts. "It's too big this time… I mean it's the unraveling of time and space we're talking about here! Everything as we know it is about to fall apart!"

"Not if we can help it."

Helia turned and saw Sky walk up with Layla, looks of grim determination set in their expressions. The two didn't appear to be harmed in any way and Helia let loose a sigh of relief. "I see you two have sorted out your issues." he commented.

"Not yet we haven't." Layla looked at Aetheria, her eyes dark with doggedness. " Everything will have been sorted out once we've kicked Baltor and Diaspro's rears and reclaimed all aspects of Bloom. There's got to be a way to stop them."

Aetheria bit her lip. "I… I'm still a relatively new keeper. I don't know all the facts behind the legends and myths of life's aspects. Eilian knew more than I did. I do know where they have to take the aspects in order to force them to meet however."

"Where?" Roxy ventured, her voice wavering ever so slightly with a nervous caution. Helia was surprised the young girl was able to hold herself together throughout all of this. "Where do they have to go?"

"The Dais of Chaos." Aetheria said slowly.

"Don't like it already." Musa muttered. She looked to the sky. "For once could we not go someplace eerie and evil? I've got some suggestions! What about Candy Mountain or the North Pole?"

"Who are you talking to?" Riven asked.

"Forget it. How the hell to we get to the 'Dais of Chaos'?" Musa said in exasperation.

A strange voice answered her from across the clearing, "You don't."

* * *

><p>Kerrin glowered at the group of individuals standing before her. About half of them were fairies donning exquisite Enchantix outfits. The rest of the group consisted of a group of armed men in uniform and a young fairy who wasn't transformed. But Kerrin disregarded them after she answered the blue-haired fairy's question. She focused her dark gaze on the form of the girl sprawling on the ground at the center of the group. "Aetheria…"<p>

"Kerrin!" Aetheria sounded hopeful as she unsteadily rose to her feet. The Guardian Fairy of the Expanse of Space looked worse for wear as she met Kerrin's gaze. "My sister…"

"You broke your oath." Kerrin said flatly, cutting Aetheria off. "I'm surprised the gods haven't decided to smite you yet." she stated nonchalantly.

"Perhaps its because they saw how dire the situation was as well." Aetheria said quietly. "Kerrin… I had to do it."

"Eilian put you up to it. How typical of her to cause trouble. She must figure if she isn't the only one breaking the rules then the gods can't punish her." With her black robe flowing about her like living darkness, Kerrin walked toward Aetheria. Aetheria flinched and fell back amongst the crowd of fairies and men. "Come Aetheria. Confess and face judgement. If you recount what Eilian has done then perhaps the gods will show you mercy."

"We need to stop those who stole the aspects!" Aetheria cried out. "They took the aspects of a young girl who…"

"Enough." Kerrin felt her anger peak. "We leave now and have you and Eilian dealt with accordingly. Meira and I…" Kerrin was cut off by a gentle voice.

"…will aid you in this mission, Aetheria."

Kerrin whipped around and saw Meira calmly approach. "But they betrayed their vows to the gods!"

"But not to one another." Meira gave Kerrin a stern look, her silver eyes flashing in the sunlight. With her pale blonde hair and pure white cloak, Meira appeared to be angelic in comparison to Kerrin. "She and Eilian made an oath as sisters to forever protect one another. Eilian did not have to pressure Aetheria. Aetheria willingly removed that aspect at Eilian's behest. We too made vows with them. To break them now after the amount of time we've had with one another would be sacrilegious."

"You could incur the wrath of the gods!" Kerrin cried, her shock and anger making her shrill. "The gods, Meira."

Meira didn't even think on what Kerrin had said. She turned from Kerrin to the group and made the slightest nod at them. "I will help you, Aetheria. Call upon Eilian. We'll need to hurry if we hope to catch up to those transgressors who hold the aspects." She then turned back to Kerrin. "Make your choice, sister. Which oath will you uphold? The one to those who command you or the one to those who've loved you and stood by you for centuries?"

Kerrin slowly backed away from Meira, shaking her head. Her black curls bounced about her face as she shook her head. "You are asking me to choose between honor and friendship." She turned from Meira then, and she felt her inner turmoil peak, bidding her to go back. She ignored it and took several more paces before she stopped and drew a slender, black blade from beneath her cloak. She reached out to the shadows of the trees and they dragged away from the roots and coalesced before her to form a black sphere. Before she entered the shadows she turned back to the group behind her. "Traitors. All of you." She thrust her sword into the heart of the black orb and entered the dark sanctuary of the portal, leaving her sisters to their doom.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note- <strong>Helia deserves a round of applause for breaking up that tense situation between Layla and Sky. Meira and Aetheria have chosen to work with our beloved Specialists and Winx. The clock's not only ticking for Bloom, but for much of the past and the present as well. Here's hoping our beloved Winx and Specialists will be able to stop Diaspro and Baltor in time. It took me forever to finish this chapter, but it was fun. Hopefully you'll all enjoy it.


	15. A Letter to All My Readers

The following is a review I received on Destruction. I read it and I decided to call the reviewer out on it. This is not a fit, but a notice to every writer on Fanfiction who's suffered too harsh of criticisms on Fanfiction. Sometimes these reviewers are not always right. I copied and pasted it: nothing about it was edited or changed.

**My last review (according to the update I'd received via e-mail):**

hey fool:even though you explained at the beginning of the chapter, why don'tthe others use their belevix powers, and they never went to the mega dimensionin season 4, even though you wrote 14 chapters, some shorter than others,therenot very good but just to spare you from crying and having a fit,I'll keep onreading and whats with the whole Greek mythology in it you basically ruined itand fairies and gods will never come together because they don't even existyes if you want to be a writer you need to take all this criticism suck it upand move on, people will judge you and make mean comments, but that's how theworld goes round, this stuff your writing is no good and if you stop at thispoint then their is no way you'll be ready for the real world, this is crapand ** i don't even know how you got good comments your ruining my day so farso ** off and stop writing do something else it might better suit you i meanI'm just saying you never know you've got to explore everything before yousettle on one thing better take my advice you might not get anything betterthan what I'M giving you some people might not even tell you the truth its howthe world is and if you think this is mean then wait until you go into thereal world and like i said before SUCK IT UP AND MOVE ON LIFE'S NOT WORTHCRYING ABOUT

**To my dedicated readers and my last reviewer,**

Whoever **Hey Fool**is, I'd like to report that I didn't cry or have a fit as I'm sure you were hoping I'd react. I'd also like you to know I don't plan on ceasing the story just because one person out of thousands decided it wasn't their cup-of-tea. The fact I'm continuing shows how strong I am in the face of your grammatically erroneous review that wasn't even worth a full read. But I'll have you know I read it anyway because I felt like pointing out some of your mistakes about Winx Club.

I've been a Winx Club fan ever since the 4kids entertainment company got rights to the show and aired it during their cartoon programming. I'll admit I'm more-so used to 4kids dub rather than the RAI, Cine`lume, or Nickelodeon versions. But thus far the lovely readers have been very understanding and adjust or focus on the main point of my stories out of respect. I thank them for that.

I was forced to switch over to the RAI dub after 4kids lost the rights and couldn't air the 4th season. I willingly made the adjustment because I was quite interested in seeing the series storyline continue. It was fascinating to watch and see the minute differences between that dub and my preferred. But just because I switched dubs doesn't mean I'm an idiot and can't pick up on details.

First off, the Winx did go to the **Omega **Dimension in season 4. Their exploits there occurred during episodes 25 ( called 425 of the series) and 26 (called 426 of the series) of the **4****th**** season **(I've got links to the official Winx Club Wiki which is combed through by thousands of Winx Club fanatics everyday:  wiki/Winx_Club_-_Episode_425 and  wiki/Winx_Club_-_Episode_426). You can also use the link to episode 26 and find information about the ending of the last episode of season 4, where the Winx Club make the quickest change from their Believix powers to their Enchantix powers (not including Roxy of course!). I'll have you know this led many fans to believe that the Winx would return to the Enchantix forms, which is why I decided that would be how it was in my story. **Hey Fool, **if you feel that the information provided by the Winx Club fans (who've probably seen each episode thousands of times) isn't good enough for you, go to Youtube, Dailymotion, or some other site that could allow you to watch full episodes and justify the facts yourself.

I can understand where a person is coming from on the whole Greek mythology issue. But I'd like to point out that the entire Winx Club series was infused with Greek myths and aspects. Alfea was a coined term referring to the Greek letter alpha. The Omega Dimension was named after the Greek letter Omega. The Minotaur seen in the very first season (according to every dub except Nickelodeon) was borrowed from Greek mythology. Musa's name is derived from the term Muse, which I'm certain you could look up yourself and discover that it too is of Greek origins. Eraklyon was named after a city called Heraklion, which was in turn named after Heracles, a very famous Greek hero. I could go on about the Greek influence in Winx club all day, but being an avid fan I'm certain you could go ahead and figure them all out yourself. I only pulled in the Greek mythology because I can do so. It's a little something called creative leeway that allows me to write as I please on fan fiction. So long as I don't claim the subjects as my own, I may use them. And it's very interesting. Many people who read this story could possibly walk away with a little bit more knowledge (provided they can sift the fact from fiction of course!).

Why **Hey Fool **would waste his/her time pointlessly repeating himself/herself in the last half of his/her message is beyond me. Again, I'd like **Hey Fool **to know I'm not stupid. I can see that you obviously think the story sucks. I can obviously see you don't like the story. I can obviously see you want me to quit. I want you to know that you didn't have to read this story. In fact I'd prefer it if you stopped reading this story because I hate to waste your time and I'd hate wasting my time reading your preposterous reviews.

**Hey Fool, **I encourage my readers to give me constructive criticism that's supposed to improve my capabilities as a writer. Many have complied. You have not. Instead you gave me a load of opinionated statements and incorrect facts that did nothing to encourage me as a writer. Fanfiction is here to encourage and foster those who wish to pursue writing ventures, whether professionally or for fun. People who acted like you just did, I can assure you, are most certainly not welcome here.

I didn't want to post this little letter half-way through one of my stories, but since I can't exactly contact **Hey Fool** any other way I was compelled to do so. If you're going to rant about one of my stories in the future, at least get the facts straight. I don't like to single out rude reviewers, but I've come across too many and this one had to be the worst. I'm glad you signed on under guest because I didn't want to completely embarrass you and drive you from Fanfiction. Please continue here on Fanfiction. I'm sure there's something here you like.

To my fans, I apologize for you having to read this. I just wanted you all to know that reviews like the one I just received are most certainly not worth the worry. Thank-you for your support and I hope you'll all continue your writing endeavors in spite of these reviews. I will be updating to this story as soon as I can and I appreciate every encouraging and constructive review I receive in the future!

~Kyree Winx, A Horrible Writer Apparent~


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 - Three Steps Back and One Step Forward**

Once again the clearing was immersed in silence. The moments after the dramatic exit of the dark fairy were long and tense. Unease was noticeable in every individual standing in the clearing. Brandon was actually afraid the two Eternal Fairies would change their mind and leave like their sister. But he couldn't bring himself to break the tension by making the first move. He waited and watched, as he was taught during his fighting classes. Let the opponent play hasty. Let them make that first move. Your own fighting style is determined by that first move, and thus the outcome of the battle.

'These fairies need to make that first move; they needed to prove just to what side their loyalties belong. This moment is too crucial for us to play hasty.' Brandon thought silently to himself, his gaze never leaving the two Eternal Fairies.

Finally the nerve-wracking wait ended. Meira turned from the darkened shadows and faced the Company of Light. "We aren't traitors for wanting to hunt down those who dared to tamper with our charges." she muttered to herself. But Brandon could see she was second guessing her own intentions despite her attempt to convince herself; her honey brown eyes reflected the dark look of uncertainty in spite of all her supposed affiliations to light. She glanced cautiously at all the guys and girls. " So we move on without her. These fiends need to be stopped before they cause irreversible destruction to the space-time continuum."

Aetheria wasn't ready to let the subject go. Brandon saw the struggle in her blue eyes as she stared into the shadows. "I can't believe…" Aetheria's lilting voice trailed off. She turned to Meira, a look of sadness and fear in her eyes. "Why would Kerrin out of anybody just reject our need for aid like that? Do the sister-bound oaths mean nothing to her?" Her eyes pled with Meira, asking for answers.

"Kerrin made her choice, Aetheria. We cannot judge her for choosing actions she knows the gods will forgive." Meira put a hand on Aetheria's shoulder. "You and Eilian have gone forth into unprecedented territory… the point where the bounds of our powers and abilities are tested. What can we do for certain instances and what can we not do?" The pale fairy dropped her hold on her sister's shoulder. "I couldn't allow you and Eilian to fall alone. You two meant no harm or rebellion toward the gods. You were only doing what you believed to be right."

"You're willing to sacrifice yourself for Eilian's and my mistake?" Aetheria took Meira's hand.

"As the oldest of the fairies I feel obligated to take censure for the actions of my younger comrades. Hopefully, since I've done the longest service to the gods, they'll forgive what we've done and take mercy for our boldness to do the right thing." The light fairy pulled from Aetheria and straightened, taking a commanding and regal stance. She gave an acknowledging nod to Sky. "So let us move onward."

"If you are doing the right thing then why should the gods have reason to show you mercy or punishment for that matter?" Layla crossed her arms. "You are doing the right thing… that should be your guys' ticket out of any trouble!"

"She's right, Meira." Aetheria said nervously. She wandered over to the spot where she and Diaspro had fought and knelt to pick up her spear. It sparked with aura as she handled it. " The gods should worry less about their self-preservation and try seeing through the eyes of those who serve them, or even through the eyes of the mortals." Aetheria glanced up toward the sky.

"I do not question the intentions of the gods. They, like humans, are subject to their own perspectives and ideas." Meira got a faraway look in her eyes. "But the gods are not entirely impassive to our human attributes. Have faith, Aetheria. Do not let Kerrin's take on the situation bother you. She doesn't think for the gods, the gods think for themselves. For all we know, this could be their will and we don't even know it. So to move onward is our best option. We need to focus on retrieving those aspects."

Musa nodded slowly, a calm expression on her face. "Okay, so we know you all are going to help us. That's great! So I repeat: How the hell to we get to the 'Dais of Chaos'?"

"Kerrin was right by saying we don't…" Meira started.

"What do you mean?" Sky said darkly. "You're saying we can't get to this Dais?" Brandon had been friends with Sky a long time and could easily recognize his friend's temper rising again. "Then what use are you to us?"

"Well, if we can't then Baltor and Diaspro shouldn't be able to either." Stella pointed out, obviously trying to mediate the situation. Brandon's heart fell as he identified the look of disappointment in her eyes. Then a determination went through her, making the look vanish and she eyed the edgy Sky next to her. "How then do you know this destruction by aspects is even possible if one can't travel to site where it has to be done?"

Every person in the group looked at Meira, who didn't appear to be phased at all about being put on the spot. "If you'd allow me to finish…" Meira said with a wry smile, "It isn't impossible to get to the Dais. Just unknown."

"So let me get this straight. You have absolutely no idea where this Dais is or how we get to it." Sky threw his hands up and walked from the group. "Just throw us back at square one why don't you! We're as helpless as we were back at Palace Domino! We know things but can't do anything with them!"

"We weren't helpless at Domino! We just had to focus a bit harder on the evidence is all! Recall that we did find a trail and follow through with the evidence, Sky." Tecna said hotly, her cheeks flushed. Brandon recalled Tecna's struggle back at Palace Domino, how hard she worked to put the clues together. "To call all of us worthless is quite insulting I'll have you know!"

"You really need to cool your jets, Sky." Musa said, placing a hand on Tecna's shoulder. "You've been too damned edgy and those who are trying to help as best they can are getting chewed!"

Brandon could sense the instability of tensions rising yet again. The past couple days were so full of anxiety and anger he was surprised the whole lot hadn't split up by now. But now the situation seemed to be at breaking point. Sky was seriously angry they hadn't found Bloom yet, Layla looked ready to jump in and finish what she and Sky started earlier, Tecna and the Eternal fairies were visibly offended by Sky's comments; hell, even Riven cracked his knuckles in preparation for a fight. Brandon prepared himself to go forward and quell the fighting when Flora quickly beat him to the punch and prevented the fight by approaching Sky.

"We'll figure it out Sky." Flora said soothingly. She had a hand on Sky's arm and was looking up at him with kind, green eyes. The young flower fairy practically radiated with feelings of calm and hope, which visibly affected every on-edge individual in the group. "Now we've got help from the experts, so things should go a lot smoother."

Flora's soothing appeared to have worked as Sky's anger subsided. But the bitterness still came up. "Some experts." Sky muttered.

"We're not the experts." Aetheria admitted calmly, absent-mindedly rearranging her white robes. She'd either gotten over or ignored Sky's offensive statement from before and simply disregarded the newest comment. "But Eilian has done the most exploring when it comes to the legends of Chaos. We should find her and see what she knows."

"That's probably best." Meira agreed. Her confidence had definitely returned at the mention of Eilian. Obviously the fairy was very close to Eilian compared with her other sisters. "Eilian spent centuries exploring the legends associated with our origins and charges. If anyone knows anything about the Dais, it would be her."

"Fine." Sky looked up tiredly. "If you think that's the best route, then we'll look for Eilian and find out what she knows." he said resignedly. "Just so long as we save Bloom…"

"So we need to return to our search for Eilian." Brandon sighed. "We're not back at square one, but we have taken three steps back."

* * *

><p>The scene before Diaspro shimmered as she clawed through it. The darkness roiled in response to her sudden shift in mood. "Well isn't that quite the setback." she muttered angrily. "Now we've got to hunt down that hussy Eilian!" She turned from the remnants of the clearing scene. "I've got to report this to Baltor."<p>

With a swift flourish, Diaspro delved deeper into the shadow realms. Her mind bubbled with irritable thoughts as she lithely moved through the swirling shadows. "Eilian was in our grasp and we disregarded her and let her go." Diaspro growled. "We have to find her before those Winx do. Naturally they've got the upper had with those damned Eternal Fairies. At least the one fairy had enough sense to abandon them. Nonetheless…" She finally pushed through the shadow barrier into the dank, dark depths of a cavern. "Baltor!"

Chittering resounded in response to her shriek. A couple of rats, surprised by her sudden outburst, scampered away from her. Diaspro herself fought her own fear and revulsion. "Why can't we go somewhere less nasty?!" She stomped over to Baltor, who was sitting on large rock, fingering the two aspects with a contemplative look on his face. "Baltor!"

"I heard your first heinously odious screech." He sighed and turned to face her, his contemplative expression replaced with a look of exasperation and boredom. "What is it you wish to gripe at me about now?"

Diaspro narrowed her eyes, struggling with a sudden burst of anger at Baltor's flippancy. "At least I'm bothering to assess the situation! What are you doing? Staring at those stupid aspects like they're interesting or something. They're only good for one thing, Baltor. Destroying Bloom!"

Baltor regarded her coldly. "Do you wish to know why I've had as much success at conquering the universe as I've had?"

"Not really. You did get your ass kicked by Bloom." Diaspro said rolling her eyes.

"That's because I fell to the simple minded emotion of anger, which pushed me to act with erroneous haste. So driven by the need to destroy Bloom was I that I disregarded any sense of caution or preparation. Your anger for Bloom is great, Diaspro! But you need to control it in order to reach your ultimate goal." Baltor turned from her and focused on the aspects again. "I'm considering the possible consequences of our actions. We are playing with time and space after all."

"I don't care if we're playing baseball with God and Buddha!" Diaspro crossed her arms. She'd had quite enough of Baltor's blathering. "While you're busying yourself with worries about Bloom's fate, I'm more alarmed by the fact that we don't know how to get to the Dais of Chaos."

"Whatever are you talking about?" Baltor pocketed the aspects and stood up, towering over Diaspro. "Of course we know how to get to the Dais of Chaos."

Diaspro clenched her fists and held back a scream of exacerbation. "No, we don't! I was counting on leeching the information from those stupid Eternal fairies, but of course they've got no idea how to get there themselves. Then it dawns on them that the only one of them who could possibly have a clue is Eilian! Now they're about to go hunt down Eilian and together they'll all go skipping their way to Dais and stop us by some stroke of dumb luck! We need to get to Eilian first!"

"No we don't." Baltor said calmly.

"What do you mean?" Diaspro snapped.

"Because I know where Eilian is going to lead them." Baltor said with a shrug.

"And how do you know that?" Diaspro asked in astonishment.

"The Ancestrals did raise me you know. They've explored a number of techniques to destroying their enemies. Destruction of aspects was one of those techniques." Baltor clasped his hands behind his back and stood tall, like a teacher instructing his students. "No person in the magical universe knows where the Dais of Chaos is located."

"So Eilian doesn't know…" Diaspro said slowly, "…how does that help us?"

"No _person_, Diaspro. But legend has it the key to finding the Dais was recorded in an ancient tome of power. However, this tome of power has been lost to the universe for centuries."

"So it's lost. Eilian has never found it. What makes you think we'll be able to find it?" Diaspro crossed her arms, biting her cheek to prevent her from screaming at Baltor to get to the point already.

"Because there's a very likely chance the tome is being kept in one of the most extensive libraries known to the magic dimension." Baltor said matter-of-factly. "The collectors have been hoarding ancient texts and scrolls for centuries. Nobody has bothered to call them out on it because of their standings in the magical universe."

"Who?" Diaspro asked incredulously. "I mean, these people have been stealing these books and neglected sharing them with the universe? Who has that kind of power and capability of going unnoticed?"

Baltor smirked. "Why Diaspro! I'm shocked the thought hadn't come to you. The people would have to be powerful, practically royalty in order to get away with stealing from the general public. Naturally, they'd be well trusted, almost too trusted."

"You mean like Bloom?" Diaspro frowned.

"I'm talking of Bloom's lineage yes." Baltor looked at her. "The kings of Domino have been accruing powerful scrolls and texts for centuries. It is very likely such a text describing the location of the Dais is with him. Of course, I'm not too sure how to go about getting into his libraries…"

Diaspro gave a wicked smile as a brilliant idea dawned on her. "Oh… he'll let me look. Just you wait." She turned on her heel and opened a portal into the shadow realms. Before entering she heard Baltor's last musings.

"I do find it curious, however, that the Ancestrals didn't pursue the destruction of aspects idea…"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note- <strong>Curious indeed. Why wouldn't the Ancestrals make use of such a definite way of handling their enemies? Could Baltor be having second thoughts about helping Diaspro? Diaspro's gotten ahead of the Winx and Specialists. Will they be able to catch up with Eilian's help? Will they be able to find Eilian? And what about the unraveling of time? What's up with Bloom? Thought I'd leave you with a bunch of mind boggling questions.

And to my dedicated and supportive readers, thank-you again. I knew there'd be adversary when I began writing fan fictions. I just had no idea I'd have such amazing supporters and reviewers to help me get past the obstacles. You all are wonderful.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 - Winning the Battle While Losing Time**

Oritel stared hard at the young girl seated opposite him, his mahogany desk separating the two of them. She stared back with unnerving, violet-shaded eyes, unperturbed by the stare Oritel was known throughout royal society for. "And so I've come to you for the book, King Oritel. We need that book to save your daughter."

He leaned forward, settling his chin on his clasped hands. "Bloom is on the verge of being destroyed. Legendary entities of great power have come forth to give aid. And the answer to everyone's questions currently lies within the Domino Library." Oritel shook his head and leaned back in his chair again. "I can feel time running out. As we speak I'm already forgetting the time I spent together with my daughter… I know it happened, but I can't recall it." He stood then and leaned toward the girl. " But you don't know what book you're even looking for. What if you're wrong and it isn't there? What if time runs out? Everything gets undone… my precious daughter…"

"So be it." the girl answered coldly, sounding as though she would willingly go with either version of fate. Her eyes flashed in the light provided by the hanging chandelier above them. "Obviously it was Fate's intentions for time to run out then."

"And it's Fate's intention that your realms be broken into and your charges be taken?" Oritel said pointedly. He ran a hand through his hair. "Specifically my daughter's? What I've read of your realms is that they're meant to contain these aspects, to ensure they're safely kept from those who wish to play fate."

"And sometimes Fate will look to pawns to do her bidding, even if the bidding means defying the very laws that have been set to prevent terrible catastrophes like this. Nonetheless, I've offered to help because my sisters insist that what's happening is not Fate's will." Kerrin spoke as though Oritel ought to be bowing before her and groveling because she was there. She got up out of her chair and faced Oritel. "Will you accept my help or not, Oritel?"

Oritel held his head in his hands. He was having a hard time of just accepting the girl's help. His gut instincts told him that something about her didn't seem right. The way she spoke about fate said she was on their side and yet she wasn't on their side. "How do I know you won't just disappear with the book, the only chance my daughter has? How do I even know that you're trying your hardest to save my child?"

"You don't. I guess it will be a matter of faith on your part. In any case, I'm only bothering to help with the intention of righting the wrongs, not saving your precious daughter." She referred to his daughter with such a spiteful tone it made Oritel stare. Kerrin appeared to be irked by Oritel's persistent questioning. "Why do you continue to waste precious time? Your daughter's life is on the line and here you stand questioning one who can help."

"Kerrin of the Eternal Fairies…" Oritel stared hard at her. She definitely didn't look the part of an Eternal Fairy. Sure she looked strong and beautiful, as the myths said she was. But Oritel didn't get immense power from her. Nor did he entirely believe her answers about her intentions. Her answers sounded vague at best. But did he have a choice? Bloom needed him. And he needed all the help he could get at this point. "Let us head to the Domino Library then. I hope we find the book." Oritel stood and strode across the room. He opened the door and motioned for Kerrin to follow him. "The library is down the hall, through the door on the left."

Kerrin nodded and followed him out of his office into the drafty hall. She started to follow him and began speaking. "I thought the grand Domino Library had been hidden on a Roc…" she wondered aloud.

Alarm bells began to go off in Oritel's mind. He finally decided to heed his instincts and he stopped leading Kerrin, turning abruptly to face her. "No, I've had the books brought back…" He frowned at Kerrin. "Wouldn't an agent of Fate know…"

He was cut off by another voice. "King Oritel of Domino?" called the voice breathlessly from down the hall.

With another odd glance at Kerrin, Oritel turned and saw a brown-haired girl making her way toward them down the hall, gray cloak rustling about her as she walked purposefully toward them. "That I am… what is it?" he asked.

Her gray eyes reflected a sincere look of relief as she hastened her steps, notably excited to know it was him. "I'm here to help. I've come for a book…" the brown-haired girl's breathless voice trailed off as her eyes settled on Kerrin. "Kerrin? What…" Her gray eyes widened in shock. "Di-"

Before the girl could finish the thought Kerrin blasted her and the girl flew down the length of the hallway. "I guess my cover's been blown, which is too bad…" She waved her hand before her and Oritel saw her visage shimmer. Before him stood Princess Diaspro of Isis. "I wanted to get this done without causing an uproar. But now that I know where the library is and how easily accessible the book will be…" Diaspro smiled at Oritel sweetly before she shot a burst of magic that threw him into the wall.

Oritel felt the air get knocked out of him as he collided with the wall. He scrambled to his feet and reached to draw his sword. "Guards! Halt, Diaspro…"

"I just shot you, what makes you think I'll halt?" Diaspro called out coolly as she sprinted down the hall toward the library, her heels sounding like a ricochet of bullets. "Seriously…"

"Time tear!" shouted the brunette. As she screamed a wicked-looking scythe appeared out of nowhere in her hands and she ran it through he air before her. A force of energy snapped toward Diaspro. Diaspro threw up a dark shield that dissipated the energy. "You don't know what your doing, Princess of Isis!" the brunette cried.

"Apparently I do! I keep going do I not?" Diaspro threw out splayed hand before her and dark energy swept forward, overcoming the brunette. "Get out of my way!" she snarled and she walked past the crumpled form of the brunette.

Oritel rushed to the brunette's side as Diaspro disappeared into the library. He offered her a hand as he looked after the intruder. "Who are you…"

"Eilian… and that was not my sister." Eilian groaned as she accepted his hand and got to her feet. "I'm becoming weaker as the stream of time is being undone… but we need to stop her." Eilian stumbled after Diaspro into the Library.

Oritel followed her. He was met with a whirlwind of books and papers that were zooming through the room. "Diaspro!"

"_Hecate... servus tuus te obsecrat ... adiuva me invenient me libro quaero ... Ego praecipio vobis cum viribus vos praediti me …_" Diaspro spoke the words in in a shockingly commanding tone for such a small girl. The books seemed to pick up speed after her chant. Diaspro tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?"

"You don't command the gods as a servant you fool!" Eilian laughed and slammed her scythe into the ground hard. The books ceased their spinning and fell to the floor. "Now listen!"

"No!" Diaspro threw a dark orb at Eilian, her eyes flashing with hate. The orb hit Eilian hard in the chest and she slammed into one of the sturdier bookcases. "Where is that damned book!?" Diaspro stalked over to Eilian and grabbed her by the front of her robes. "What book is it?"

"Drop her…" Oritel leaped over a pile of books and charged Diaspro. Diaspro dropped Eilian and snatched up her scythe, bringing it up just in time to block Oritel's attack. "… you need to drop your petty quarrel with my child! Bloom doesn't deserve any of this!"

"And I deserved everything that happened to me?" Diaspro heaved Oritel's sword back and scurried up the slope of a book pile.

"Find the book." Oritel said to Eilian and moved to pursue Diaspro. "I'll handle her."

Eilian got to her feet, her fatigue visible in her face and Oritel ran after Diaspro. "Watch out… she's got Hecate's blessing." Eilian warned and darted to the nearest book pile.

"Oh I've faced worse." Oritel muttered as he ducked down an aisle, his view of Eilian getting cut off. He silently prayed he made the right decision trusting this new individual as he searched for Diaspro. "Come now Diaspro! What you've done can't be irreparable! Give yourself up and allow us to fix everything."

"False promises, Oritel. And why is what you promise false? Because things are a bit out of my hands now…" Diaspro called, her voice echoing through the shelves. "I'm not holding the aspects that will determine Bloom's fate!"

Oritel's brow furrowed as he tried to narrow in on the sound of Diaspro's voice. "What do you mean? Who has these 'aspects'?" He turned a corner and was met by a surprising blow. He fell and found himself looking up into the wild eyes of Diaspro. "Diaspro…"

"A good friend of yours, Oritel. You may remember him. Baltor?" Diaspro smiled viciously as Oritel unwillingly let his horror show. "That's right. Your worst enemy has your daughter's fate in his hands at this very moment. He's got a bone to pick with her as well as you."

"No!" Oritel dropped his own weapon and grabbed the scythe's handle, throwing Diaspro off balance. The two grappled. "What have you done?"

"I'm rearranging the stars, so to say!" Diaspro laughed. "So they'll align for me!"

"You fool!" Oritel roared.

"King Oritel!" shouted yet another voice. Oritel glanced back and saw Sky and Stella headed for him from approximately ten bookcases away. "Hold on!"

Diaspro wrenched free of Oritel and scrambled back into a wall. "Hecate, why do you forsake me now? I command…" Oritel saw realization alight in her eyes. "Hecate I beg of you, give me the book!"

Her shriek rang through the bookcases, causing Sky and Stella to halt in surprise. There was a crashing noise and a book whizzed past them, straight into Diaspro's arms. It opened before her and her eyes gazed upon its contents. "The Dais…"

"Diaspro!" Sky roared. He raced past Oritel and reached out to grab Diaspro. "Don't!"

Diaspro snapped the book shut and waved her hand over the wall, smirking back at them. The bookcase shadows on the wall shifted in response to her movement. "Now that's more like it." She turned to enter the wall but Sky grabbed the book and attempted to pull it away from her. "Let go, Sky!" she yelped as she lost her grip and fell backwards into the shifting shadows.

Sky stumbled back, his hands clutching the book. "I've got it…" he turned to Oritel, his chest heaving. "This… this is what we needed to save Bloom…"

Oritel frowned, staring hard at Sky. "Bloom? Who's Bloom?

* * *

><p>-<strong>Author's Note<strong>- Devious Diaspro. She almost got away with the Winx's only hope too. It's a good thing the guys and the girls managed to trace Eilian, who just so happened to be confronting Oritel. Makes one think about what Diaspro pretending to be Kerrin said to Oritel. Just what are Fate's intentions? Does she mean for Diaspro to win? If so, that explains why she and Baltor were able to break into Eilian's realm. But then Sky arrived in the nick of time to save the book they need to locate the Dais. Eilian managed to be in the right place at the right time to foil Diaspro's little charade. What's going to happen? Any thoughts? Hang onto those while I prepare you all for a scintillating end!


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 - Dark Realization**

"So there is an end to the damned line…" Bloom muttered to herself as she gazed ahead. A large pavilion of gruesome structure was finally taking form from the darkness. "Maybe I can get some real answers, not the cryptic palaver these know-nothing watchers have offered." But as she got closer to the end of the line she didn't feel any sense of relief. Rather, Bloom felt on edge as the words of the watcher echoed through her mind. She wasn't ready to be judged for anything. Her life wasn't over. She wasn't dead. What kind of screwy system did Fate have, anyway?

Beyond the scrambling of her own cognition, the screams and pleas of other spirits and souls cried out to no one:

"_I didn't have enough time…" _begged the fading spirit of an elderly man.

"_One more chance, please, I beg of you…" _sobbed a terrified looking man.

"_What about my children?" _cried a distraught woman.

"_My body lies in a river… please let me help them find it!" _pleaded a youth.

"And mine is in the Underworld…" Bloom mumbled in response, but of course, the spirit didn't answer her back. With a resigned sigh, Bloom glanced down at her hands and froze in horror when she noticed that she could stare right through her own fingertips. "What?" she flipped her hands over and over, hoping there was some kind of mistake. Her heart pounded as she saw the translucency began to climb higher up her hands. "NO!"

A laugh echoed beyond the confines of the line. The figure became barely visible once more, his watchful eyes regarding her thoughtfully. "Alive no more…"

"I'm alive!" Bloom snapped, but she knew her fear was obvious. "This place is just playing tricks on my mind!" She rubbed at her arms frantically, but the translucency didn't cease. "Or not…" she whispered, her heart falling. An idea occurred to her and she lifted her skirts and gazed down at her feet. They weren't translucent. "What is going on with me!?"

The figure wasn't laughing anymore. His eyes were now wide in shock as he looked Bloom up and down, dark pupils flitting from her feet to the hands clutching her skirts. From what Bloom could tell, the figure hadn't seen anything like it. "So unprecedented… so living and yet not… how?" the figure hissed.

"Why would you be compelled to ask me? I'm the one freaking out! Do I look like I know what's going on?" Bloom asked incredulously. She dropped her skirts and turned in the line to stare at those morose and crazed faces behind her. When she didn't see any other cases like herself she looked back at the figure. "How does a living being end up in a line for the dead? How was time taken from me so suddenly, so unexpectedly? How is it I'm slowly losing my very being? You're the freaky supernatural watcher. What's going on?" Bloom demanded.

The figure fell silent and watched her with eyes so full of curiosity Bloom felt like some kind of amoeba beneath a microscope. Then the figure vanished again and Bloom let out a hostile scream that made the craziest of ghosts in the line cease their ravings. " And you leave! What's happening to me? I shouldn't be here! I should be planning my wedding or fighting off another of the universe's evils, not facing judgment for something I haven't done…" Bloom trailed off as a thought occurred to her. "Haven't done." she repeated. And the guilt began to seep up. "No…"

The line trudged onward and Bloom didn't say another word. The crazed lunatics ahead of her continued with their own rants and the calm souls kept up with their quiet vigilance. The line somehow picked up pace and the pavilion entrance got closer and closer. Bloom didn't even bother to address the figure when he made himself reappear again, his eyes still watching her intently as though she were going to try escape. But Bloom wasn't going to escape. There was no point.

"Could… could this have all happened because…" Bloom bit her lip and looked down at her fading gown. The bright blue of the fabric no longer looked blue, but a dull gray. In fact it appeared to be dissipating at the edges when she stared at one spot long enough. "… because of my incapability to destroy Baltor? Maybe Baltor somehow got free and sent me here… and now…" Bloom covered her mouth to hold back a dry sob, "… is he killing others? Is he hurting the ones I love? And all their blood…" Bloom looked down at her disappearing hands, "… all their blood would be on my hands. Damn it… damn it all…" Bloom felt the tears start to roll down her cheeks. Then as suddenly as her tears began she ceased her crying and looked up to find herself standing before the entrance to the pavilion. The entrance was a gaping black hole so full of finality and closure. "No… damn me. Damn me for not being strong enough." she whispered. And she stepped into the pavilion to receive her judgment.

* * *

><p>The Winx and the Specialist burst into the Domino library almost an hour after Aetheria was able to get a lock on the fairy Eilian. Timmy had driven like a madman to get them to Domino as fast as possible, resulting in some very nauseous fairies and freaked out Specialists. But they made it back to Domino in record time. And there was quite a sight to behold for them upon arrival.<p>

The library was a total disaster, Riven noted and immediately he was on edge. He caught sight of movement in a corner of the room. "Sisters!" cried a brunette girl Riven assumed was Eilian. She was tearing through piles of books, risking being crushed by haphazard shelves and precariously stacked books. "Help me find the book!" she called.

"What's it called, Eilian?" Aetheria didn't hesitate as she ran to the nearest pile. "Do you know what it's called?"

"No." Eilian answered. "But look anyway!"

Riven was about to let loose a smart-alecky comment about their aimless searching when he heard something. Beyond rows of shelving, Riven picked up on the sound of fighting. A recognizable shriek rang out and Sky and Stella scampered off to investigate. It was Diaspro's voice for sure, Riven figured. He was about to follow Sky and Stella when Musa grabbed his arm and motioned to a pile. "Help me look." she stated.

Riven was about to tell her no, then thought better of it and grudgingly grabbed a book off the floor. As he grabbed the book, Diaspro's voice sounded again, the shrillness of her tone ringing out loud above the bookcases. Every person searching ceased their scramble and looked up. "Hecate I beg of you, give me the book!" Diaspro shrieked.

"_Oh cacas_…" Eilian cursed. She looked around worriedly.

Riven felt the book in his hands tear itself from his grasp and fly at an impossible speed toward where Stella and Sky had disappeared. "Was that…" he began, but Meira's cry of disconcertion answered his question before he could finish.

"Grab it!" Meira commanded and Aetheria leaped at the book. But she missed her mark and it was gone before anybody else could even move. "NO!" Meira shouted.

More noise sounded from beyond the bookshelves. Riven picked up on Diaspro and Sky shouting at one another and some kind of struggle ensued. Then the fighting ceased. Moments later Stella and Sky reappeared, looks of panic evident in their expressions. Sky was clutching the book Riven had found. "Move… we've gotta move now!" Sky shouted.

"Guards!" Oritel's voice called out, thundering with anger. "Thieves!"

"What?!" Roxy squealed in terror, her hazel eyes suddenly bright. "We're not…"

"Not now Roxy…" Stella grabbed her hand and motioned for the girls to follow Sky. "We need to get out now!"

Without a word, Riven threw himself at the double-door entrance and found himself face to face with a couple of guards responding to Oritel's cry. They looked shocked and moved to grab their weapons. "Sorry boys!" Riven moved so quickly and smoothly that neither of them saw his attacks coming. His fist met with the first guard's nose with a crunch, then he expertly turned and drove his foot into the gut of the second. The two crumpled before him. "Let's move." he called out.

"Give me the book!" Eilian held her hands out to Sky. "I can read it!"

"Not now!" Sky barked as he led the group ran down the hallway. "We need to get somewhere else fast…"

"What's wrong with Oritel?" Flora asked, her slender arms pumping at her sides as she worked to keep up with Sky. Her gentle tone was filled with confusion. "Why did he just call the guards on us?"

"He doesn't remember Bloom…" Sky said grimly. His blue eyes dulled some. "There's no reason for him to remember us…"

Eilian let out a small gasp. "Time is going to waste faster than I thought…" Eilian cast worried glances at both her sisters as they ran alongside one another. Riven saw some kind of message pass between the three of them. "Won't be long now…" Eilian said forlornly, her words holding the hollow bitterness of defeat.

"Enough talk…" Stella snapped. She appeared to be irritated with everyone's sudden resignation, but Riven could hear the uncertainty and fear in her voice as well. "Let's get back to the ship and get the hell out of Domino…"

Riven slowed up and took a place closer at the rear of the group, making certain they had everyone. He threw a glance behind their retreat and saw Oritel stumble out of the library. Oritel saw his defeated guards then turned to see their group racing away. "Guards!" Oritel roared, breaking into a sprint after them.

"Damn!" Sky yelled and Riven looked ahead. An entourage of Domino's royal guard had apparently been on duty in the entrance atrium. They were now headed for them, shoving past screaming servants and aristocrats who had been obliviously wandering the halls. "There are too many…"

"We gotta take 'em." Layla clenched her fists and stared hard toward the oncoming company. "We've got no choice…"

"Can't you girls get your Tracix working?" Timmy looked at Tecna.

"No… I can't… by the time we transform…" Tecna was cut off when the guards crashed into their group. The Specialists flew into action: fists flying, feet kicking, and weapons slashing. The Winx were casting spells and charms, resorting to old-fashioned fist fighting only when the enemy got too close. Even the Eternal Fairy trio was holding up well in the fight. Riven was actually impressed with how well they were able to hold the soldiers at bay. But the guard numbers were still too many for them. And the situation only got worse when Oritel reached them.

Immediately Oritel went after Sky, swinging his famous sword in an arc toward Sky's head. Sky, book in one hand and his own sword in the other, managed to raise his weapon just in time to stop the blow. The blue phanto-blade flickered under the force. "The book, boy!" Oritel commanded, brown eyes alight with an uncharacteristic madness. "No one steals from Domino!"

"We need it to save your daughter!" Sky shouted. He broke the sword lock and rolled out of the way as Oritel's sword crashed down. "Remember, Oritel? We need the book to save Bloom! We aren't stealing it from you! Remember Oritel!"

Riven took out another guy about to attack him and looked at Eilian. "Why doesn't he remember? He's Bloom's father!" Riven grabbed a soldier's spear and threw the soldier off balance with a shove. "He sent us on this crazy mission!"

"He's had so little time with her!" Eilian swung the handle of her scythe and took a couple of soldiers out by the legs. Riven could tell by the wild look in her eyes she too was addled by Oritel's sudden change. "I'm guessing his memories of her have run out!" she offered.

"If Oritel's time has run out…" Musa began to speak then slammed her knee hard into the groin of another guard. Riven felt a grudging sense of pride and approval well up within him as he watched his girlfriend fight tenaciously. "… who knows how much more time we've got left!?" Musa finished.

"Who knows, therefore we don't have time for this!" Stella cried out. She dodged the attempted attack of a soldier and Brandon stepped in to handle him. Stella fumbled with the ring on her finger: the Scepter of Solaris. "Someone needs to do something! I'll try portalling…"

"And risk bringing this clash elsewhere? I think not!" Meira interjected.

"No! I've got this!" Aetheria yelled. "I can get us out!" she said determinedly. Before Meira or Stella could protest, the blonde Eternal fairy slammed the shaft of her spear into the floor hard and Riven felt his very being getting torn to pieces. Light filled his view, then darkness and he no longer saw anything; not the guys, the girls, the guards, the palace… he saw nothing but heard plenty. Beyond him he could hear the screams and cries of the Winx and the Specialists. Their voices sounded muffled and thick, but Riven was pretty sure that they too were taken aback by the sudden lack of being and awareness.

Only one voice came out clear as day. "Hold on!" Aetheria called out, her voice loud and peremptory in the senseless void. "Just a little longer!"

"Riven!" Musa screamed. Or at least he thought it was Musa's voice calling for him. Riven wanted to reach out to her and hold her, but it was like he had no arms or legs. "Help!"

"Now!" Aetheria cried and everything snapped into perspective. Riven could suddenly see again and he had arms and legs. He fell with a thud onto the hard ground and quickly got to his feet, nerves on fire with perception. He noticed Aetheria leaning heavily on her spear just yards to his right. "Oh gods…" Aetheria murmured and fell to her knees. "That most certainly took it out of me…"

"What did you just do?" Stella asked. She was running her hands over her arms and staring at her self. Riven saw that everyone else was doing the same. "What was that? Where are we? The guards…" Stella looked around.

"We're at the temple…" Flora said in awe. Riven suddenly realized they were standing amidst the very ruins they'd visited earlier on in their mission. The sun was shining brightly above them, giving them a clearer view of the dilapidated site. "… you got us out!"

"Risky move, Sister…" Eilian said. She wandered over and helped Aetheria to her feet. "Breaking us down and reassembling us elsewhere… that's a gutsy move considering our powers have been weakening with the destabilizing of space's fabric and the unwinding of the time strand. Feeling the effects?"

"Thank the gods my powers didn't fail me. For now, we're safe. And we've got the book." Aetheria looked hopefully toward Sky. Riven saw the book was still in his hands, looking especially tattered and worn in the bright sunlight. "We must make haste. Eilian, read it. Where's the Dais?"

Eilian dropped Aetheria's hands and walked up to Sky. He reluctantly handed her the book and she flipped it open. " _Creatio Ex Nihilo. _Aptly named." she commented as her fingers traced over the worn pages. She rapidly flipped the pages, her eyes scanning until she stopped at a page near the middle of the tome. "The Dais…" Eilian murmured, her eyes hungrily taking in the words. "… it's…" she paled and looked up at Aetheria and Meira.

"What?" Riven demanded. "Where's the damned Dais?"

"It's rooted deep within Erebus…" Eilian said quietly. Riven watched Meira's and Aetheria's faces fall. "…deep within Kerrin's realm."

-**Author's Note**- Bloom's moved forward to accept her judgment. The Dais is somewhere in Kerrin's realm, so the Winx and Specialists are more than likely to run into some obstacles there. Time is running out and Diaspro and Baltor are on the move. Things aren't looking so good for Bloom and her friends at this point. Has the memory lapse begun to take its toll on any of them? Are they too beginning to lose Bloom? Will Bloom give herself up too soon?


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 - Kerrin's True Intentions**

"Kerrin's realm." Meira breathed. Stella glanced at the light fairy, taking in the look of absolute wonder and realization reflected on her flawless face. "I should have known. It makes sense. The dark is so deep, so mysterious, so unknown… of course Chaos' Dais would be hidden there. And none of us have ever ventured into the realm, save for Kerrin."

"Makes one wonder if she ever knew…" Eilian mumbled furiously. The gray fairy's simple beauty was marred by her sudden, dark expression. "And I'd been searching for so long. No wonder she always mocked me for trying to find the Dais. She must've known all along. She had the answers I sought…"

"Our answers lurk in the darkness…" Stella dryly mused, mindlessly fingering the Ring of Solaris on her finger. She shook her head to focus herself. "So we travel to Kerrin's realm." she said solemnly, breaking into the tense moment that had followed the revelation the Eternal Fairies had revealed. Her mind went back to the words Eilian had said minutes before. "Deeply rooted in Erebus…" She wrinkled her nose slightly at the sound of the name. For some odd reason the name made her powers tingle the slightest. "Why do you make it sound like it's impossible?"

"It's not impossible." Aetheria shook her head. "But if you recall Kerrin hasn't been very helpful or supportive when it comes to our mission. She fears the gods' wrath far more than she respects us enough to help. And we can't blame her…"

"Well, she can't just go kicking us out of her realm!" Layla proclaimed loudly, clenching her fists. Then she paused and looked at Meira. "Can she?"

Meira didn't say anything. She looked past Layla and stared off into the distance. Eilian eyed her nervously before she answered Layla's question. "She can. It's her realm. The unknowns of darkness are her charges, charges allotted to her by the great Erebus himself. She can deny us entrance if she feels it will be a threat to the aspects she swore to protect."

"But she won't be able to stop Diaspro…" Stella said suddenly, the thought dawning on her as she recalled how Diaspro fell into the shadows. "Her powers… they've changed. I can feel it every time we face her. They're so dark…" She turned to Sky. "You saw her enter the realm of darkness. That's how she and Baltor have been getting around so fast. Kerrin hasn't bothered to keep her out of the darkness at all!" Stella turned on Meira. "Whose side is Kerrin on!?"

"Calm yourself, Stella." Meira said quietly, her hand raised to indicate that Stella should cease her rant. She focused her gaze on Stella then, bright eyes knowing and confident. "Kerrin didn't allow Diaspro to do anything. Hecate did."

"Is she another Eternal Fairy? How many of you are there?" Tecna asked.

"There are only four of us Eternal fairies. She's not one of us." Meira stated. She gave Tecna an undaunted look, sounding sagely and all-knowing as she spoke. "Hecate's a goddess. The witch goddess. The magic goddess. The moon goddess. The crossroads goddess. She holds many forms and plays many roles." A pensiveness clouded her expression. "I'm thinking she's playing the role of crossroads keeper now. She's led all of us to a crossroads, where a number of different fates and destinies lie before us. It appears as though she's specifically been leading Diaspro. But I don't believe she's gifted Diaspro so out of spite for you or us."

"Hecate's always been a trickster goddess!" Eilian snapped angrily. It was obvious she didn't like the so-called goddess all too well. "I sometimes wish the gods would just deal with her already. She does nothing but cause trouble and grief with her sorcery and poisons."

"Easy, Eilian." Aetheria muttered, casting an anxious glance toward the sky. "Zeus is going to have to respond to your blasphemy sooner or later."

"Enough with the useless pondering about this annoying goddess." Stella stated, exasperated with the time that was being wasted. "Memories of Bloom are fading fast." She bit her lip and tears filled her eyes. "I can't remember how she and I even met. We need to get moving or else our universe is left at the mercy of an unraveling chain of events. If Kerrin wants to fight us once we enter her realm, so be it. I'm not afraid of her."

Eilian snorted. "Please… Solarians have always had a phobia of the dark."

Stella shivered, but didn't deny Eilian's comment. "Yeah… well whatever! My best friend needs me. My realm needs me. The fate of the present universe is currently in the hands of a couple of our worst enemies. I'll just have to overcome the darkness with a little light and determination. So…" Stella tossed back her head and met Eilian's look of amusement with her own look of sheer will, "… how do we get into Kerrin's realm?"

Eilian frowned then and looked away, a slight look of embarrassment overcoming her amusement. "Actually I don't know. I've never entered Kerrin's realm before. She glanced at Aetheria, who shook her head. "And neither has Aetheria. So I guess we've got no way of getting in…"

"I'll take you." Meira said quietly.

The whole group turned their attentions back on Meira. "What?" Eilian said, sounding more shocked than questioning. "You can get into Kerrin's realm? But you're a fairy of light!"

Meira's mouth quirked up into a wry smile. "And? I'm also the oldest of the Eternal Fairies. I was the first of us. The gods entrusted me with a lot more information than the rest of you. I've been to each and every one of your realms; granted I haven't explored them completely. But light does meet the darkness you know." She turned from them, her gaze landing on the ground where the shadows of the temple ruins gave way to the light. "The line where a shadow ends and light begins… I can cross it."

"Not in a quiet, peaceful manner. Not in a manner that could possibly safe. When light and darkness meet… your energies will be meeting your counterparts'. You'll be fighting through Kerrin's barriers." Aetheria whispered, fear crossing her delicate features. "Are you sure about this, Meira?"

Without a word, Meira held out her fist before her and quickly yanked down. As she did so a strand of light came into being, falling limp in her hand. Stella recognized the strand resembled a whip. Meira turned back toward the group of fairies and Specialists. She gave them a nervous smile, "Prepare yourselves." Then she snapped the whip of light and the group was thrust into total chaos.

* * *

><p>As soon as Diaspro had escaped from Domino via the shadow network, she rushed to Baltor and told him where they were headed. Erebus was their destination; it held their goal. The fact it had always been within her reach was frustrating of course, but at least she could get them there and end the course her life had taken. Together, she and Baltor delved deeper into the darkness… only to be pulled from their path by an unexpected person.<p>

"This is my realm! I will not grant you passage to Erebus!" Kerrin cried out as she summoned her black blade and threw herself into a parry with Baltor. Diaspro watched from afar as Baltor expertly handled the dark fairy's vicious attacks, fiery magic blade in hand. She had to admit his skill was impressive, but at the same time it was disconcerting. He moved almost too well, wielded the weapon with unreal skill. She almost pitied Kerrin for attempting to face him. "Tenebrous strike!" Kerrin screamed, finally resorting to magic. The shadows playing on the walls of Kerrin's cavern seemed to come to life and leaped at Baltor.

"Don't think so…" Diaspro muttered, dead-set on dealing with anything that could jeopardize her mission. She was far too close to lose now. She raised her hands and started a counter-curse, the Latin words echoing through the dark cavern Kerrin called home, "_Hecate penes potentia a me jubes tenebris et in fide defecerint preceptum obserua. Et denudabunt te verto tenebris intentionem, ita quaero!_"

"No!" Kerrin faltered in her block against Baltor's swing, thrown off by Diaspro's chant. She fell back into a kneeling position under the pressure of his blow, barely holding back the flaming weapon from her face. The shadows that were about to engulf Baltor halted for mere moments, then stormed the struggling Kerrin. "Stop! I command thee…" her words ceased and were replaced with an ear-splitting scream. Diaspro felt a sudden revulsion as she watched the shadows devour the helpless fairy.

As the shadows finished draining Kerrin of her energy, Baltor kicked forward. His foot hit Kerrin in the chest, throwing her back so she hit the rock wall hard. As she made impact with the wall, Diaspro heard a resounding crack. The shadows returned to their respective locations on the walls. Baltor walked toward Kerrin, weapon raised. "We will go on to Erebus. It has to be so." he stated in monotone.

"Over my dead body." Kerrin said, her voice heavy with pain and determination. Diaspro felt a sudden respect for the dutiful girl lying against the cavern wall. She was hurt and outmatched and yet she insisted on standing in their way. Kerrin was as determined as Diaspro, but Diaspro had Baltor. "You'll have to kill me…" the Dark fairy said solemnly, her eyes reflecting fearlessness.

"Huh." Baltor said. Diaspro's eyes widened as Baltor continued to approach the injured fairy. His eyes were cold and emotionless as he stopped before her, his mouth drawn into a thin line. "So be it." he said. Before Diaspro could say or do anything, Baltor thrust his magic blade into the Eternal Fairy of Darkness. "So be it…" he repeated.

Kerrin cried out in pain, struggling against the weapon that pinned her to the wall. "Baltor!" Diaspro screeched, nausea and terror filling her. She watched in horror as he removed the fiery blade from Kerrin's chest and it disappeared into thin air. "What have you…"

"I've done to her what you've got planned for Bloom. From now on all obstacles should be obliterated for the sake of time and effort. There's been quite enough useless interruptions." He answered her unfinished question with such nonchalance that Diaspro felt shocked and sick. "Let's move, Diaspro." Baltor said calmly and walked ahead into the depths of darkness of Kerrin's cavern. "It's only a matter of time before those pesky heroes catch up." he called, his voice phantom-like coming from the gloom.

Diaspro turned back toward Kerrin and carefully approached her, kneeling at her side. Her eyes locked on the bloody wound and she fought the urge to vomit. Killing wasn't supposed to play a role in her plan. She gulped down a breath and turned her gaze to Kerrin's face. "Kerrin…" she murmured. "I…"

Kerrin looked up, her dark, violet eyes sad and filled with pain. Her voice was soft and filled with acceptance as she spoke. "It had to be… Fate has decreed it so…" she reached out and took Diaspro's hand. Diaspro almost flinched and pulled away, but she willed herself to stay still. "Baltor is wrong… what… what you have planned for Bloom," Kerrin coughed a wrenching, wet cough, "…is far worse that death, Diaspro." The fairy's breaths were heavier and her gaze more unfocused. Diaspro felt her grip loosening. "You… you can't…"

"But my destiny… I want control of my god-damned destiny!" Diaspro said, her desperation evident in her tone. "My future was going to be perfect until Bloom came along. She ruined everything. My life after I met her was a living hell!" She saw the discarded sword at Kerrin's side slowly dissipate. "The only way I can get things the way they were, to retrieve my destiny, is if Bloom didn't happen."

"Your destiny… it has nothing to do… with the life you've lived, the past…" Kerrin murmured. She dropped Diaspro's hand and reached for the dark pendant around her neck. She wrenched it from her neck, snapping the chain, and shakily placed it in Diaspro's hand. "Destiny has to do… with the life you're about to live… holding onto the past does no one any good… it's only meant to be recalled once in a while… then left alone." Kerrin gave a knowing smile and Diaspro saw a brighter beauty in the Fairy of Darkness. "I should know…"

Diaspro furrowed her brow and looked at the pendant in her hands. She could sense the depthless powers within the smooth black circle of obsidian and her own powers responded to them. With a feeling of confusion and wonder, she looked up at Kerrin in time to hear the dying fairy's last words.

" _Sit_ _uobis servire Erebi bene, soror._" Kerrin murmured. Then the dark fairy let out a shuddering breath and was still.

"Kerrin!" cried out a voice on the other side of the cavern. "Kerrin, no!"

Diaspro, reeling from the sudden turn of events, stumbled to her feet and sprinted off after Baltor into the darkness. She heard the footsteps and yells from the fairies and Specialists behind her, but she paid them no heed. As she pushed her way into the gloom, she clenched the amulet, struggling with the meaning of Kerrin's final words.

* * *

><p>-<strong>Author's Note<strong>-_ Valete, Kerrin. Ut mortem misericordiam et det tibi pacem._ And so we move onward into Erebus, where the Dais of Chaos resides. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 - Two Reach a Crossroads**

Upon her entry into the pavilion, Bloom was met with blinding darkness. The sudden loss of her sight unnerved her, but she immediately fought off the idea of turning herself around and running out. She doubted she could escape anyway; the compelling urge to keep going forward was still at work on her. Just standing still in one place took up much of her willpower and waning strength. So with a calming breath, she took cautious steps into the open space beyond, hoping she wouldn't run into something terrifying hidden by the gloom. "Hello?" she ventured meekly, "Is there anybody in here?"

An overwhelming droning answered her, the pressure of the darkness vacillating from weightless to heavy. Black and white visions danced across her vision and she almost shouted in surprise. The visions were of her and her life, every precious moment, every unique thought. The droning was actually an onslaught of voices and sounds that had been significant to her. She barely distinguished the sound of motherly Miriam singing to her, the soothing tones from a comforting Vanessa, the tenor- voice of her Sky. But at the same time she could picture the taunts of the Trix, feel Darkar's subjugating powers, and hear Baltor's haunting laugh. Hearing and seeing everything that comprised her life all at once was the most surreal thing she'd ever experienced.

But the experience was short-lived. A commanding voice dashed the assault of memories and brought Bloom back into the present situation. "Princess Bloom of Domino I presume?" questioned the irked voice from the darkness. "Come forward."

Bloom didn't move forward. The voice's tone of annoyance made her nervous. She squinted into the black, trying to identify the voice's source. "You must be the judges of the deceased. I suppose you're going to judge me? For what I haven't done?" she questioned.

"Rarely do the souls of the deceased question the interrogators. Come forth." another voice said, sounding less commanding and more curious. But his gentle curiosity also gave Bloom a heady sense of wariness. "Allow us to review your case…" urged the curious one.

"My case… you mean my lifetime…" Bloom muttered. She then sighed resignedly and stepped forward. As she did so, the pressure began to build up again and Bloom gritted her teeth. Voices she didn't recognize began to filter in and out of the silence, their words inaudible. The darkness seemed only to become more dense and foreboding. But Bloom was compelled to walk and walk… "How much further do I go until I walk into a wall?" she asked, irritated.

"Halt." stated the harsher, commanding voice. The voices grew louder and Bloom could sense her unseen judges stirring. "You're… you're…"

"Is this truly happening? Is a living being standing in our court?" questioned Curious. The babbling voices beyond the darkness swelled in volume as he posed his questions. "Such an ordeal hasn't been so in thousands of years. But she's fading see!"

"What in the name of Hades is this?" mused the commanding tone. "The gods certainly do know how to shake up my court hearings, don't they?"

"We cannot judge those who aren't dead. Their judgment is not within our jurisdiction, the intact souls of the living aren't our charges… but she isn't technically alive either. She's partly corporeal, but as we speak we see her essence is breaking down. Do you see her arms?" Curious sounded greatly intrigued by Bloom. Bloom self-consciously ran her hands over her fading arms when he noticed her predicament. "What do you suppose Hades would have us do, Minos?" Curious asked.

"Quiet Rhadamanthus." Minos answered. "Aeacus? How would you handle this?"

A third presence that hadn't made itself known answered, "She's not panicking like the rest of the souls we encounter. She's not pleading for another chance. Why aren't you begging us for your life?" Aeacus asked calmly.

Bloom stared straight ahead into the darkness feeling as though there were some invisible barrier mere centimeters from her nose. Several moments passed before she realized she'd been addressed. "Well… I-I…"

"We don't ever address the souls. They don't have emotional or mental stability enough to offer an answer. Even if they did they'd lie out of their own sense of self-preservation. Only the aspects of life can be read to reveal the true nature of an individual's life. Perhaps her life wasn't worth living? Where are her aspects? Where is her strand of fate? Bring them to me!" Minos snapped to whatever unseen servants were lurking in the darkness.

"None of the aspects were given to us, brother. Fate hasn't been reported to have cut the thread yet, either." said Rhadamanthus.

"Then she isn't physically dead yet. Her spirit is still clinging to her body, which lives, and the life she'd been leading, which has ended." mused Aeacus. "This most certainly is a unique situation…"

"Unique situation or not, the living don't just wander into the judgment zones!" Minos sputtered, cutting off Aeacus' musings. "Nor is this a curious situation. Obviously some demented higher power dares to mock the sacred duties of those who handle the fates of the dead! What power or deity dares to meddle in Death's affairs?"

"Whoah! Okay!" Bloom interjected fiercely. "I'm not someone's attempt to mocking your 'sacred duties'!" She felt a sudden wave of ferocious anger swell over her and she shrunk back slightly. "At least I hope not… I believe I'm here to be judged for what I haven't done."

"What are you going on about?" Minos growled. "Be judged for what you haven't done? Our decisions are based on your actions that were carried out through life. We don't go by hypothetical situations that could or could have occurred. That'd be judging life worth by mere speculation!"

"But if all this isn't because I couldn't destroy Baltor, then why the hell was I dragged from Domino to stand in that horribly depressing line!" Bloom screamed indignantly. She ignored the waves of rage the judges were giving off and buried her face in her hands. "I'm alive, but I'm fading… therefore I'm dying, but I'm in the line of deceased souls… and I've done nothing wrong or right, but I'm being judged anyway… I need an answer! I need absolution! Give me a definite answer! What is happening to me!?"

"Enough!" Minos roared. "No one speaks out before the judges of the dead with such insolence!"

"Well as my father would say, 'Nobody mistreats a princess of Domino!'" Bloom retaliated before suddenly realizing the consequences of talking back. She reeled in her anger and focused on trying to reason with Minos, "If there's no purpose for my being here, let me leave!"

Apparently her back talk had been the final straw for the judge of the dead. The rage was roiling with obvious hints of hatred. "You're going to toil and despair for eons in the Fields of Punishment, princess! See you talk of mistreatment now!" Minos snarled.

"Minos!" Rhadamanthus spoke up, "Cease! Hold your tongue! We're fair judges who must remain impartial and unbiased… don't allow your personal feelings…"

"Quiet Rhadamanthus! Dirae!" Minos shouted.

Bloom felt the air around her grow unbearably heavy. She clutched her chest and closed her eyes tightly as pain clawed over her arms and legs. The voices she'd heard earlier became horrible, high pitched screeches that made her ears ring painfully. Her vision flashed from fiery red to the darkest of blacks and her mind scrambled to process it all. Bloom's mouth opened to scream, but instead she uttered one word, "Damn…"

"That's right… you've been damned…" sneered Minos' voice above the cacophony of the screeching. "Take her… wait… what…"

The flashing before her eyes ceased and she was left blind with darkness. The pain faded from her and she felt a nothingness unlike anything possible. The screeches and voices of the judges all ceased and the immediate silence was practically deafening. The sudden lifting of weight was too much for Bloom and she fell to her knees, her mind reeling. Slowly she opened her eyes to nothing and took a small shaky breath, "Damn…"

* * *

><p>"Kerrin! Kerrin, no!" Aetheria cried out once they'd crossed the lightshadow boundary. As her eyes adjusted to the onset gloom of the cavern before her, Layla caught sight of a startled Diaspro scrambling to her feet and running like hell into the darkness. Where she'd been kneeling lay the motionless body of the Eternal Fairy of Darkness. Kerrin was propped up against the wall, her complexion unnaturally pale and her eyes closed. The shock was unanimous amongst the group members. Nobody moved as Aetheria ran across the cavern and threw herself down next to the unmoving body. "No… no no…"

After the initial shock, the reactions of the group began to differentiate. Layla watched as Flora covered her mouth with her hand and buried her face in Helia's chest. Musa and Riven shared a grim look and remained quiet. Stella's eyes watered slightly and Brandon took her hand into his. Both Timmy and Tecna tried their hardest not to focus on the depressing scene before them. Roxy looked absolutely mollified and stood staring with an open mouth. Sky and Eilian both remained emotionless and crossed their arms. It was interesting to note everyone's feelings about what had happened.

Meira, like Aetheria, looked disheartened. "Aetheria…" Meira called out, her own sadness heavy in her tone. She slowly strode over to Aetheria's quivering, hunched form. "Aetheria, stop. She's gone…"

"But you're all the Eternal fairies for a reason… dying isn't one…" Stella started then stopped as Eilian gave her a dour look. She frowned and looked away from Eilian, but Layla could see in her eyes that her confusion still at work. "Eternal means forever…"

"Not for us… the servants. In this case, eternal is describing the ideality the gods wished for the aspects we protect…" Meira stepped closer to the shivering Aetheria and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She cast a glance back at Layla. "We ourselves remain timeless, yes. But invulnerable… no. Any severe injuries we sustain can render us mortal so that we too may fall to Death's clutches. As Kerrin has…" her voice trailed off.

""They're killing now…" Sky noted astutely, cutting into the somberness that had overcome them all. Layla glanced at him and saw he bore a cold expression; he was seemingly unmoved by the scene before them and disinterested in the mortality of their supposedly great allies. His self-appointed responsibility toward Bloom obviously outweighed his respect for the deceased. "What does that mean?" he asked, not even glancing at the still warm corpse before them.

It was Eilian who answered him. "It means time is running out and they've noticed it. They're going to take on anything in their way with brute force. Persistence will result in annihilation." Eilian swiped her hand through the air and drew out her scythe, her gray eyes suddenly cold and steely. She too appeared impassive about Kerrin's demise; rather she looked anxious to move onward. Layla suddenly realized that only Meira and Aetheria seemed to care about Kerrin's death. Eilian was probably still peeved about Kerrin's hiding the location of the Dais; her grudge was just as strong as Sky's sense of responsibility. "We must pursue them. We'll mourn our fallen comrade later. Kerrin would want us to move forward." Eilian urged Aetheria.

Aetheria's shoulders shook harder with silent sobs, but she made no effort to remove herself from Kerrin's side. She just clung to Kerrin's lifeless hand, as if letting go would mean losing her forever. Meira squeezed her shoulder sympathetically and looked up at Eilian, her sad, intelligent eyes looking darker all of a sudden. "Memories have oddly remained intact… did you notice?" she asked quietly.

Layla watched Eilian's anxiety morph suddenly into curiosity as she considered Meira's perception. She cast another glance at Kerrin's still form; Layla could see her eyes surveying Kerrin's person, searching for some kind of sign. Her eyes sparked when she finally noticed something and she returned her focus on Meira. "Her pendant is gone… it ought to still be on her person… unless…" Eilian's eyes widened then grew stormy as she seemed to get angrier; her flawless face became tense with an expression of horror. "No!"

With a frown, Layla forced herself to look upon the deceased fairy again. "Is that important? Will it have an impact on our objective?" she asked, her mind struggling to make the connections the Eternal fairies had made impossibly fast. "Memories? Is all of this even relevant anymore or are you girls on a whole new book?"

Meira nodded slowly, her gesture an infuriatingly vague answer to Layla's barrage of questions. Layla was about to grill her some more, but Meira spoke up instead. "Eilian's right. Kerrin's death will not be in vain. We're running out of time now. Let's keep moving… it won't be long before Baltor reaches the Dais." Meira turned on her heel, her white robe swirling about her as she did so.

"Wait, what do you mean about memories?" Layla grabbed Meira by the arm. She caught sight of Meira's slightly worried and confused expression and a thought dawned on her. "Are our memories supposed to be gone?"

"We don't have the time, Layla." Eilian motioned toward the abundant darkness ahead. "We need to go after them before they annihilate Bloom."

Meira gave Layla an odd look before breaking free of her grip and dashing ahead into the darkness. Eilian followed her and the guys and the girls did the same. Layla was about to follow suit, but she hesitated and looked down at Aetheria, who was still stroking Kerrin's limp hand. "She did try to help in the end. In her own way she tried to stop them. By not helping us she was keeping the Dais' location secret to all…" Layla offered the words, trying to condole the distraught Eternal Fairy. She knelt down next to Aetheria. "She did the right thing. She did what she could. But what she did wasn't enough. Aetheria, we need your help. Kerrin would want you to help us stop Diaspro and Baltor."

Without so much as a sob, Aetheria carefully set Kerrin's hand down and stood up. Then she faced Layla, regarding her with such a serious expression Layla felt the enormity of Bloom's situation slip a couple notches in priority. "The darkness is what binds us all together. The darkness holds the unknown, sparks the imagination, embodies the idea of nothingness…" She walked past Layla toward the darkness the others had entered. Slowly she reached out to allow her own entry, but she stopped mere inches from it. Aetheria turned and glanced at Layla again. "Her charges are the aspects of memory, the ideas we have stored in the deepest darkest recesses of our mind. With her death there should be universal panic as every memory stored in the darkness was lost…"

"But our memories are still intact. And there's no panic… no chaos." Layla stated. Her mind raced through a couple of her own memories to make sure before speaking again. "So why are they intact? Why is there no breakdowns among the Winx or the Specialists? Why am I not entirely lost with why I'm here?" Layla questioned.

Aetheria's eyes were unwavering and filled with such knowing that Layla shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "They've both been led to a crossroads by Hecate. Both of their fates are on the line now. Both are struggling with indecision. Our actions will prove to be futile as it will be their decisions that determine the fate of what has been and what shall be. But we will go to Dais anyhow… it's what we personally must do in an attempt to save what is." With one last knowing glance at Layla, Aetheria moved onward into the shadows. Layla wanted to ponder Aetheria's cryptic thoughts, but the direness of Bloom's situation suddenly regained it's priority. She huffed with dissatisfaction and followed everyone else into the shadows that practically connected everything.

* * *

><p>-<strong>Author's Note<strong>- Wow was this hard to write! Didn't know how to go about having Bloom judged without creating the implication of a single religion. I decided to stick with the Greek theme. Aetheria sure did offer a bit of insight at the end didn't she?(Hint, hint!) Who stands at a crossroads? The reference to Hecate offers a clue to one, but the other? Will there be another death? Is Bloom finished? Will Baltor manage to destroy the aspects? Stay tuned and all will be revealed in the final chapter of Destruction. Hopefully you're all prepared for my mind-blowing ending!


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 - Chaos

"_Your undoing is about to commence…"_

Bloom was jolted out of her dark solitude by a voice so loud it made her teeth chatter. Or was it voices? She barely understood the words as the layered sounds played out the syllables and diphthongs in her mind. She blinked and struggled to her feet, the heavy darkness making it hard for her to hold her bearings as to what up or down was. "Hello?" she called meekly. "Who's there?"

"_I cannot be there… nor can I be here… Bloom of Domino. It is impossible for me to be contained in one place. Therefore I cannot be anywhere. Your kind think of me as a state of matter, a concept. But I can be unleashed to encompass entire spaces… it is a complicated matter beyond the understanding of many. My powers are horrible, terrible, and inevitable. And your undoing will most certainly release me upon the universe I've watched unfold before me…"_

"Who are you?!" Bloom shouted, sudden fear boiling up in her as his words settled and made themselves discernible in her mind. "How can you let this happen? How does my undoing cause what you describe?"

Silence fell as the voices were quiet, as if contemplating. _"I… Bloom of Domino, am Chaos…"_

"Chaos…" Bloom stared into the darkness as she tried to wrap her mind about that revelation. "Chaos…" she murmured again. She allowed herself a sarcastic grin and stared off in what she believed to be another direction. "Why the hell do I find that hard to believe?"

Chaos disregarded her sarcasm and continued, _"I was what first filled the void. It was a lonely existence until finally I withdrew much of my being to allow for some semblance of order. From me came forth the very components necessary to fill that order, to build up the universe in which your worlds and stars thrived. Life sprung, deities commanded, nature grew… it was beautiful to behold from afar. But I approach it from time to time, not of my own whim mind you… but when the veil between your existence and my own is made thin by natural and unnatural courses of events, I break loose upon your worlds. And your very existence is threatened." _The voices somehow were filled with a sadness, a loneliness Bloom had felt within herself many times as she watched as chaos was unleashed in her universe. _"So the gods made their stand against my uncontrollable chaos… they chose their guardians and gave them power over the aspects that could set me loose upon the realms… aspects such as hope, memory, being, identity… aspects identifiable with light, darkness, space, and time…"_

"What has all this got to do with me? If you are chaos how are you talking to me? From what it sounds like as you get closer to any real thing it becomes more and more undone… destroyed…" Bloom looked down at her hands and frowned at her lack of them. "And if these damned guardians exist, how has chaos still managed to leak into the universe? Obviously someone isn't doing their job too well…"

"_I can only approach you because you yourself approach destruction, chaos…" _Chaos explained suddenly, cutting into Bloom's counts of disbelief._ "And then you draw chaos to you, despite the attempts of the guardians to prevent its release. You've only held together this long by both my withdrawal and your own will and sheer determination. Which is why I've finally decided to allow myself to approach you completely, Bloom of Domino. You are a most interesting being… one rare and possible only once every millennia or so. My altering of your human events has allowed you to be as I have need of a rare creature like you…"_

"You brought me into being? You're allowing all of this to happen to me?" Bloom felt horror begin to creep up within her and she struggled to keep composure. "You're horrible… I had a life! An existence! A duty to the realms…"

"_By my doing you had all of that. Which is why I'm about to offer proposition to spare you… so that you may continue your so-called, self-appointed services to the worlds of magic you so dearly love…"_

"What?" Bloom shook with rage as she spoke the word. She was a pawn, if she understood Chaos' meaning for her. About to be dispensed completely, unless she take up this horrid deity's offer. Her rage subsided into a heavier, throbbing feeling of guilt as she recalled her failing the universe. Bloom bit her lip as the pangs grew worse and she finally let her head bow. "What is it you offer then?" she asked resignedly. Her universe needed her. She owed them for being incapable, a fake for so long. She had a debt to pay and fading off into non-existence was not an option. "I guess I'll take it…"

"_I've offered such to a few girls before you… none of which chose to give themselves up for the sake of their universe's existence. I have to warn you though… you'll be abandoning the life you knew, abandoning the ones who love you and know you. They'll never know what happened to you. But you will be preventing my being unleashed for millennia to come. It is a responsibility very few have taken up, but you need to be willing to join them." _Chaos fell silent, waiting for Bloom's response.

Bloom thought about her friends, who must've been searching for her relentlessly. She thought about her parents who must've been worried sick. Of course she had duty to them, but of course their existences along with existences of billions outweighed their wanting of her. She bowed her head. "I'm your servant then…"

* * *

><p>"The Dais…"<p>

Baltor's voice startled Diaspro out of her mindless fiddling with Kerrin's necklace and she looked ahead. The darkness shifted and before them was a monstrous, rocky outcropping. The stone was unlike anything Diaspro had ever seen as it was impossibly black and swirled not unlike the metamorphic and igneous rock that generally made up new worlds. The whole place looked and felt primordial, so old beyond imagining it made her want to reassess what she'd been taught by her magical origins tutors. She cast a nervous glance down at the smooth stone in her palm and glanced at the Dais again. "There it is…" she mumbled.

"Time to finish your mission, Princess Diaspro." Baltor turned to her, his amber eyes glowing almost red in the shifting shadows of the dark. "Your purpose awaits…"

"My purpose…" Diaspro murmured, her thumb smoothing over the obsidian stone. Sudden panic overcame her and she suddenly found it hard to breathe. Overwhelming feelings of guilt, confusion, and fear managed to push aside her anger and hate for Bloom. Suddenly thoughts on the immensity of what she was about to do raced through her mind, clouding over her thirst for vengeance. Should she go through with this? Her mind scrambled to buy herself time before a final decision had to be made. "Perhaps this is wrong, Baltor."

Baltor raised an eyebrow at her. "Second thoughts? Wasn't quite expecting that from you Diaspro… in my prison you sounded so sure of your plan."

"And you sounded so against it." Diaspro countered, her thought dawning on the conversation Baltor had had with Bloom about playing god. "You said deciding one's fate and taking life were roles belonging only to the gods and goddesses."

Baltor's eyes glittered as he narrowed them at her. "I said that to unsettle Bloom, to mess with her resolve. Look at us now Diaspro. We're about play the roles of god and goddess ourselves. We are about to remove a single wrinkle in the fabrics of our destinies to create an entirely new tapestry!"

"What if it doesn't come out ideal? What if Bloom is inserted again anyway? What's to keep her from being recreated? Or what if someone just as strong and bold takes her place? What if we unintentionally remove ourselves in the process? We could undo much that shouldn't be undone." Diaspro poured out the questions desperately, hoping at least one of them would stump Baltor enough for her to have time to think about things. But the look in his eyes told her that his resolve was set. "You've already thought about these…"

"No… we didn't…" Baltor said in a monotone. His eyes were definitely glowing red in the dark as they stared blankly off into the tenebrous void beyond Diaspro. "But we know we outdate that pesky princess, so there's no way we can be erased completely. And with fortune being on our sides thus far… there's no way this will fail."

Diaspro frowned at Baltor. "We?"

Without even a second glance at or another word to Diaspro, Baltor turned from her and approached the Dais. As he approached, his hand reached into his coat pocket and removed the two precious vials. "Finally…" Baltor said quietly, but his voice did not sound quite like his own. In fact, his voice seemed to be laced with the tones of two or three different voices. But before Diaspro could move, his fingers wrapped around the cap of the first vial. "… we will reign…"

_Crack!_ From nowhere came a blue phanto-boomerang that hit Baltor's hands, causing him to drop the vials, which scattered across the ground of the rocky outcrop. Supposed-Baltor cried out and Diaspro flinched, half expecting the vials to shatter, but they stayed intact. She dove for the vials in an attempt to snatch them up before Baltor recovered, but was hit from the side by a blinding ray of light. "Down Diaspro!" Stella of Solaria bellowed as Diaspro went rolling across the rough rock. "We're putting an end to your insanity!"

"Get the vials!" Diaspro shrieked at Stella when she saw Baltor move for them. "Get those damned vials!" But Stella still stared her down, obviously thinking Diaspro was crying out orders to Baltor.

"Are you crazy, Diaspro? What kind of stupid pills have you been taking?" Musa cried out. She waved her hand toward Baltor and shot him off his feet, sending him halfway across the visible space. "Yo! Stella fetch!"

"I resent that!" Stella yelled as she flew for the vials, breaking free of her stare down of Diaspro. When she was just within reach of her target, a dark blur lunged at her, connected and took her clean out of the air.

"Stella!" cried out half of Bloom's posse. The other half were all like "What is that thing?" Then the whole lot of Bloom's rescue team were set upon by the summoned creatures of the dark. But Diaspro ignored them and struggled to her feet. She scrambled toward the vials herself, rushing past the distracted Solarian, when someone appeared in her way. Sky grabbed her roughly by the wrists and she ran smack-dab into his chest, knocking the wind out of her lungs.

"Let go!" she gasped. Pain sprang up in both of her wrists and she found herself shaking in response.

"Enough Diaspro!" Sky snarled, his rage all too visible in his once handsome features. He looked haggard and exhausted, as if he'd aged years in the past couple of days. His once friendly blue eyes now held a hatred for her that made her flinch. "If hurting Bloom is not going to make me love you, I sure as hell doubt destroying her will either. I've dismissed your antics before, but now you've gone too far…"

"You don't think I know that?!" Diaspro cried out, struggling against the vice-like grip of his hands. "I couldn't fucking let go because my whole purpose before this was you! I didn't know how to find a new purpose in life or how to go on without that damned plan my parents had for my life!" She glared up at him then. "All of a sudden the focus of my actions is no longer about my intentions of getting you back, Sky! Suddenly it's about me setting things right! So you'd be wise to let me go and prevent my actions from destroying life as we know it!"

Shock crossed Sky's features and Diaspro found strength enough to break free of his grip. She shoved past him and raced to where she'd seen the vials. But they were gone. "No!" Diaspro screamed, wildly roving the area with her gaze to find Baltor. She finally caught sight of him through the masses of writhing and fighting creatures, fairies, and Specialists. "Baltor, stop! We can't go through with this!"

Baltor turned and smiled wickedly at her, holding up two uncapped vials in each of his hands. "The universe will soon be victim to our terrible reign…" Baltor's voice croaked and growled with the voices of elderly females. His eyes were wild and his body shook violently as though it were at war with itself. "Long live the Ancestral Witches!"

"He's been taken over by the Ancestrals…" Diaspro realized. But she knew her realization was far too late. And she could only stand and watch as Baltor slowly tipped one vial toward another, an insane grin crossing his face as the feelings of horror and defeat instilled themselves in Bloom's friends.

"Don't do it!" Eilian cried from beneath the claws of a dark creature.

"Somebody stop him!" Roxy shrieked in desperation.

"No!" wailed Aetheria, her lament resounding enough to overcome the clashing of dark creatures and Bloom's rescue team.

"Bloom!" Sky yelled as he made a futile attempt to charge through the fighting mass toward Baltor.

But nobody could make a difference. The dark creature forces were too many and too strong. Baltor stood too far away for any of them to get even close. And the gods only knew what would happen if Baltor dropped those vials. Diaspro's plan was about to come to fruition. And she could only finger the stone Kerrin had given her as she guiltily watched Baltor pour the contents of the one vial into the other.

* * *

><p>-<strong>Author's Note<strong>- And there's the mind-blowing, life-altering, irrevocably inevitable last chapter to my book Destruction. Hope you're all prepared for an epilogue! ~Kyree Winx~


	22. Epilogue

Epilogue-

"Chaos…" Bloom whispered, her small voice somehow echoing through the dark area that had been Kerrin's sanctuary. She was staring into a vision of her friends mourning her. The girls were all crying uncontrollably and receiving half-hearted comforting from the guys. Sky just stared off into space, his eyes so empty Bloom wanted reach into the vision and grab his hands to make him feel something other than loss. The vision shifted to her parents. Oritel looked so weary and sad as Miriam shook with stifled sobs. Another shift. Mike and Vanessa were hugging one another… Shift. The pixies were all gathering around a broken-hearted Lockette… As vision after vision appeared, Bloom felt oncoming tears and hung her head to hide them. "They're all hurting so badly…" she murmured.

A hand gently settled on Bloom's shoulder and she looked up to see Meira waving her other hand through the vision. As the vision dissipated, she glanced down at Bloom with a look of sympathy. "It was probably the best outcome for you, Diaspro, and your friends. Chaos was able to erase their memories of the Eternal Fairies. They believe you and Diaspro merely died in an accident. With you and Diaspro dead, your friends are left with memories of you and the chance to move on. Chaos could've allowed things to be undone, but where would that leave you Bloom? Would your friends have come to exist? Your family? You yourself would have been inconsolable. It was an act of mercy on Chaos' part. Especially for Diaspro…" Meira cast a glance behind her.

Bloom followed Meira's gaze to where Diaspro stood flanked by Eilian and Aetheria. She looked away from Bloom while biting her lip, her guilt over what happened obvious. "I… Bloom I'm…"

"No." Bloom stated flatly. She turned from Diaspro and stared at the empty space where the visions had been Her lip trembled as she remembered Sky's despondence. "I don't want to hear it." she stated. She wasn't ready to forgive Diaspro for ruining her life. This time Diaspro had gone too far. "I…I just can't right now, Diaspro…"

Diaspro was about to say something, then sighed and nodded. "Fine. But don't forget we have to work together now." She glanced away from Bloom to Meira. "Where do we go from here? I mean… now that we're Eternal Fairies…" Bloom watched as she removed something from her pocket. "I can actually feel the darkness calling to me all of a sudden. Does that mean…"

Eilian answered her. "The gods, the universe, Chaos…" Eilian gave Bloom a wary glance, "…they've all accepted you two as Eternal fairies. Diaspro, your acceptance of the role has allowed your new powers to take hold and replace your powers over gems and crystals. Bloom…" Eilian frowned, "…I'm not too sure what will happen. Your situation is unprecedented."

Bloom held up her palm and watched small flames begin to dance about her fingertips. "My powers don't feel any different. Then again, Chaos said I tend to draw chaos to me. Perhaps my Dragon Fire is meant to represent chaos." Bloom clenched her hand, putting out the vibrant flames. "Ironic… my life falls to chaos and now I'm his servant."

"You'll find life is the ultimate irony." Eilian said softly. She gave Bloom a grim smile, her gray eyes appearing to be particularly dark as she spoke. "At least that's what Kerrin used to say to me whenever I complained how life wasn't fair."

"What makes the irony bearable is the people who help to push you through it. The people who help you give your life meaning will make it seem less of a joke." Aetheria added. Her blue eyes were bright and sincere as she spoke. "Bloom, Diaspro… just remember that you aren't alone. You're our sisters now and we'll be those people. We'll stand by you and be there when the irony is at its greatest. You'll learn to make the best of this seemingly lonely existence." She walked over to Bloom and took her hand. Then she began tugging her toward the dark depths beyond what used to be Kerrin's sanctuary. "Not to mock Eilian, but time is of the essence. We must get the two of you settled into your new existences before things begin to drift out of control. Without someone to maintain the aspects, they tend to fall to entropy. Come now, Bloom. Eilian will stay here with Diaspro. I'll take you to your sanctuary, where your charges are hidden and you can watch over the universe as is your duty."

"Duty." Bloom repeated after Aetheria, allowing the eager fairy to drag her toward her ominous and unknown destiny. She glanced back at her new sisters one last time. Meira gazed after her for a moment then turned away, disappearing into the heavy darkness. Eilian gave her a small smile and nodded encouragingly. Diaspro just stared after her sadly and Bloom felt a small pang of guilt herself. She forced herself to offer Diaspro the smallest of smiles. "Our duty…" Then she turned away and followed Aetheria into the shadows.

* * *

><p><strong>-<strong>**Author's Note- **Cliffhanger and then an epilogue… thought I'd better elaborate on Bloom and Diaspro's futures as they were obviously the ones at the crossroads. I hope you all enjoyed Destruction. Feedback is appreciated and I just love to hear from my readers about what they liked, so don't hesitate to review! Thanks for keeping up with my sporadic bouts of writing. To treat you all for being such great readers, I'm going to offer you all a sneak peek of what's on my list of upcoming stories! So stay tuned for the sneak peek chapter I'm posting on this story. Thanks again!


	23. Sneak Peek: Defiance

**Defiance**

"The universe has been victim to Baltor's tyranny for some time."

The voice began and the pointless chatter and noise ceased. All attentions were focused on the speaker.

The speaker continued. "Approximately eighteen years ago, there were devastating attacks that destroyed the most powerful realms of that time; Solaria, Tides, Eraklyon, Domino… they were all razed by Baltor's wrath, simultaneously. There was no time to call for aid, no time to prepare, and most certainly no time fight back. Who could've come to their aid anyway? There was no helping it… People were left to fend for themselves; they soon became displaced, helpless, lost, injured… dead.

The falling of the greatest realms shook the universe to the core, and slowly everything fell at the hand of Baltor. Every realm, every planet, every moon… Baltor took and stripped everything of its powerful magics and vitality. Then he declared himself the supreme rule of the universe. Nobody opposed him."

The group of worn-but-tenacious teenagers who'd been listening intently looked up from their various activities as the narrator paused his tale. They all looked solemn and their eyes held somber expressions that were well beyond their years. It was obvious that they knew the tale, that they've heard it a number of times before, that they've lived it. But they still listened to the story, their attentions captivated by the speaker as though the story may just change or shift the slightest from previous recitations.

The narrator was just a boy himself, similar to the ages of his enraptured peers. His short, tousled blonde hair was bright despite the dark, dank attributes of the cavern room they sat in. The tautness of his chiseled facial features expressed his own sobriety in response to the tale. But his eyes lacked the solemnity; their luminescent, azure depths held a fiery passion that could inspire any individual resolute on looking into them. They currently stared off into the dark expanses of the shadows, but their lack of focus only broadened the vicinity in which their stirring powers could work. "Only one person was said to be strong enough to face him. One: a young fairy who held the very power Baltor used to take the universe by storm. But she couldn't have possibly faced him in the state she'd been in. So instead she fled, abandoning the universe she'd sworn to protect." The boy looked down, as though he himself were guilty of the fairy's actions. "And so the universe fell."

"She wanted to fight." said one of the teens. A sprightly girl stood and walked over to the boy, her movements daringly graceful versus the staidness of the listeners. She knelt next to him and took his calloused hand, her thumb brushing over his knuckles. "The fairy would've fought. But she was too late by the time she returned. Baltor had accumulated too much power by then. She went to her friends and they gathered as many survivors as would follow them. Together they went into hiding, working far beneath Baltor's despotism. They worked toward the day Baltor would finally end, the day the free universe could rise again."

A disdainful laugh resounded from the opposite side of the room. Another boy stood in the shadows, arms crossed in defiance, making him appear as the dark horse of the group. The blonde boy's eyes focused then and met the tenebrous, scornful eyes of his contemporary. The dark horse stepped toward the narrator, "She couldn't wait for that day though, could she? Out of haste and a sense of overconfidence, she challenged Baltor prematurely, far before any sort of power or talisman could've been discovered to use against him. The fairy thought she was strong enough. But she wasn't…" He shook his head at the blonde boy. "She was a fool. And she jeopardized everything for those who'd pinned all their hopes on her."

"She wanted to help!" the girl consoling the first speaker insisted.

"She was prideful and impetuous!" snapped the dark horse. "She refused the help of those who would've stood by her."

"She didn't want them all to die!" she responded defensively. Her brown eyes were alight and shined with an unshakable admiration of the fairy in question. "Her friends and people were dear to her. She only wanted for them to live and love without Baltor's control and terror. So she went forth alone. It was what she thought was right."

Yet another of the teens joined in the conversation, speaking up in order to move the story past the quarrel of her friends'. "Overall it proved to be pointless. She died." She consciously ran a hand through choppy-cut, scarlet hair as the focus was redirected toward her. She set her jaw determinedly and faced her peers. "And she was their only weapon. Her dependent people were left with nothing…"

"Or so they thought." the blonde boy interjected quietly. He returned to his lack of focus and remained pensive as the focus returned and intensified on him.

"What are you talking about? We've got nothing strong enough to stand up to Baltor." A girl with features nearly identical to the dark horse boy threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "The only individual capable of standing up to him, the late Queen Bloom of Domino, is dead and gone, the Dragon Flame in her possession gone with her. Any water star we could supposedly gather would be useless because we have no Dragon Fire to activate it. It's Baltor's universe now. It's only a matter of time before he hunts us down and enslaves or destroys us."

"We still have a chance!" the blonde boy answered heatedly. "Bloom left us with a chance to take Baltor out."

"What chance? We've been withdrawn from Baltor's sight for sixteen years since her downfall and not even the members of the great Company of Light have anything to stand up to him. She did not leave us with any power to even contend with Baltor? There is no chance!" argued the dark horse, his dark eyes flashing with anger.

"You forget that I'm her son!" cried out the blonde teen. He stood then and faced his darker contemporary, fists clenched tightly to his side. His blue eyes overflowed with tears. "We've wallowed in the darkness beyond Baltor's sight with little or no faith in what my mother has done. We take for granted everything she has given us. You say she was a fool to throw herself at Baltor! In all reality removing herself from us was the best thing she could've done to ensure our survival…" he took a small breath before finishing his statement, "… and our salvation."

The dark horse scoffed again at Bloom's son. "So enlighten us. What salvation did the great Queen Bloom of Domino leave us, Edan?"

Edan's tears mysteriously disappeared from his face and he met the gaze of his mother's ridiculer with fiery determination. Slowly he raised his calloused hand before him, palm up and flames ignited illuminating all of his peers' astonished faces. "Me."

* * *

><p>~Author's Note~ I hope you enjoyed this little preview of one of my story projects, <span><strong>Defiance<strong>. I'm really looking forward to posting it! Thank-you for being such dedicated readers! Ciao for now!


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